midnight
Then an owl hooted again immediately beneath the fence and Jeekie , blowing out the candle , opened the flap of the tent and tapped the head porter , who stood outside , on the shoulder . He crept in and between them they lifted the senseless Aylward and bore him to the V-shaped entrance of the boma which was immediately opposite to the tent and , oddly enough , half open . Here the two other porters with whom Jeekie had performed some ceremony , chanced to be on guard , the rest of their company being stationed at a distance . Jeekie and the head porter went through the gap like men carrying a corpse to midnight burial , and presently in the darkness without two owls began to hoot . Now Aylward was laid upon a litter that had been prepared , and eight white-robed Asiki bearers stared at his gold mask in the faint starlight . `` I suppose he is not dead , brother , '' said Owl No. 2 doubtfully . `` Nay , brother , '' said Owl No. 1 , `` feel his heart and his pulse .