They made a show of going to bed, but they removed nothing but their boots, which they slammed down on the floor with more noise than usual.

They heard the clock in the kitchen strike every hour, and when it struck twelve they began to bestir themselves.
Bob's room being located on the first floor, in one of the wings of the house, it was a matter of no difficulty for him and his companion to leave it without arousing any of the family.

All they had to do was to open one of the windows, drop to the ground, pull on their boots and be off; and this they did in about the same time that it takes to tell it.

They picked up their meal bags as they passed along the fence, and in half an hour more were inside General Gordon's fence, and moving cautiously along the lane that led toward the negro quarters.

A few steps brought them into the midst of the cabins, which were as dark and silent as though they had been deserted.