midnight
The other had by this time finished the mead in the mug , after which , shaking hands at the door and wishing each other well , they went their several ways . In the meantime the company of pursuers had reached the end of the hog 's - back elevation which dominated this part of the coomb . They had decided on no particular plan of action , and , finding that the man of the baleful trade was no longer in their company , they seemed quite unable to form any such plan now . They descended in all directions down the hill , and straightway several of the parties fell into the snare set by nature for all misguided midnight ramblers over the lower cretaceous formation . The `` lynchets , '' or flint slopes , which belted the escarpment at intervals of a dozen yards , took the less cautious ones unawares , and , losing their footing on the rubbly steep , they slid sharply downward , the lanterns rolling from their hands to the bottom , and there lying on their sides till the horn was scorched through . When they had again gathered themselves together , the shepherd , as the man who knew the country best , took the lead , and guided them round these treacherous inclines . The lanterns , which seemed rather to dazzle their eyes and warn the fugitive than to assist them in the exploration , were extinguished , due silence was observed , and in this more rational order they plunged into the vale .