three
o'clock in the morning
`` He sha n't catch me if I can help it , '' the boy told himself . `` Now I 've left I 'm going to stay away . '' Nat was still very much agitated in his mind , so no thought of sleep came to him as he trudged along , mile after mile , driving the tired cow before him . He met not a soul ; and thus he progressed until three o'clock in the morning . Boy and cow had now been on the road six hours and Jennie refused to go further . Seeing this , he turned into a small patch of woods and there tied the creature to a tree . Then , finding a sheltered nook , he threw himself down to rest and was soon fast asleep .