midnight
But it was n't Edna at all . He had come down from the other ranche , higher up the valley , and had passed the cornfields , in which he had noticed unusual movement . He had investigated , and had found that a bunch of wild cattle had broken down the fences , and were eating and trampling down the corn . A hasty consultation decided that we should make a midnight raid on the beasts , and take as many of them as we could capture down to King City with our own bunch . We had been feeling rather sleepy , but this news made us at once very much alive . However , we decided not to undertake the raid until the next night . The wild cattle would be gone with the morning light , but they would return at dark .