midnight
hi ! '' Tommy 's meditations ended in a series of yells as loud as his shrill little voice could make them , and he thought some one answered . But it must have been an echo , for no one came ; and after another rampage round his prison , the poor boy nestled down among the leaves , and went fast asleep because there was nothing else to do . So there they were , the two young hunters , lost at midnight on the mountain , -- one hanging like an apple on the old tree , and the other sound asleep in a bear-pit . Their distracted mothers meantime were weeping and wringing their hands at the farm , while all the men in the neighborhood were out looking for the lost boys . The hunter on his return to the hotel had reported meeting the runaways and his effort to send them home in good season ; so people knew where to look , and , led by the man and dog , up the mountain went Mr. Mullin with his troop . It was a mild night , and the moon shone high and clear ; so the hunt was , on the whole , rather easy and pleasant at first , and lanterns flashed through the dark forest like fireflies , the lonely cliffs seemed alive with men , and voices echoed in places where usually only the brooks babbled and the hawks screamed .