midnight
The ranch people down the valley , fearful of raiding Apaches , had abandoned their homes , and , driving their stock before them , had taken refuge in the emptied corrals of the cavalry . Even Hart , the veteran trader , seemed losing his nerve under the strain , for when such intrepid frontiersmen as Wales Arnold declared it reckless to venture across the Sandy , and little scouting parties were greeted with long-range shots from hidden foe , it boded ill for all dwellers without the walls of the fort . For the first time in the annals of Camp Sandy , Hart had sandbagged his lower story , and he and his retainers practically slept upon their arms . It was after midnight . Lights still burned dimly at the guard-house , the adjutant 's office , and over at the quarters of the commanding officer , where Byrne and Plume were in consultation . There were sleepless eyes in every house along the line . Truman had not turned in at all .