midnight
`` Go ahead , '' said McNally . `` Show me the way . '' The two men crossed the road and entered the woods by the path . It was still as black as midnight under the trees , and they felt their way cautiously . Just north of the farmhouse they left the path and stepped into the crackling underbrush . They had gone but a few paces when they were stopped by the sound of a low whistle close by at their left . `` There they are , '' said the guide .