midnight
They had failed only for lack of a leader . But now they had a leader , and a mob with a leader is a dangerous thing . That leader was Richard Travis . It was after midnight when he rode up on the scene . Before he arrived , Jud Carpenter had aroused the mob to do its first fury , and still held them , now doubly vengeful and shouting to be led against the jail . But to storm a jail they needed a braver man than Jud Carpenter . And they found him in Richard Travis -- especially Richard Travis in the terrible mood , the black despair which had come upon him that night .