midnight
But now for those above there was danger to life and limb . During the pause the ice had gained , and no effort could relieve the false-work of its strain . All knew that if it gave way the workmen would be caught in a chaos of collapsing wood and steel . From the morning of May 14th until midnight of the 16th the iron-workers clung to their tasks . They dropped their tools and ran to their meals ; they gulped their food and fled back to their posts . The weaker ones gave out and staggered away , cursed and taunted by their companions . They were rough fellows , and in their deep-throated profanity was a prayer .