midnight
The evening of things came sooner than he expected . For at sundown , after the Indians had departed , the swift horse ridden to their camp by the little girl was nowhere to be found ! But , angry as the farm-house felt over the theft , the big brothers knew that it would be worse than foolhardy to try to recapture their animal . And the trade seemed likely to be fair in the end , after all , -- for at midnight the family saw that the blue mare was getting well ! * * * * * SHRIEKS of laughter from behind the barn , following strange , rapid thumps upon the bare ground , led the three big brothers in that direction one May morning , and , on turning the corner , they found the little girl leaning convulsively against the old straw stack for support , while in front of her , blinded by a big , red handkerchief , and with a long bolster full of hay across her dappled withers , was the blue mare , making stiff , wild plunges into the air , with arched back and head held low . For the little girl was breaking her to ride ! It was the little girl who broke the horses on the farm to ride .