midnight
Beth gazed upon it all in wonder not unmingled with awe . What a place it was for man to live and wage his puny battles ! Yet the fever of all of it , rising in her veins , made her eager already to partake of the dream , the excitement that made mere gold-slaves of the men who had come here compelling this forbidding place to yield up some measure of comfort and become in a manner their home . Van , in the meanwhile , having spent the time till midnight on his feet , and the small hours asleep on a bale of hay , was early abroad , engaged in various directions . He first proceeded to the largest general store in the camp and ordered a generous bill of supplies to be sent to his newest claim . Next he arranged with a friendly teamster for the prompt return of the two borrowed horses on which Beth and her maid had come to camp . Then , on his way to an assayer 's office , where samples of rock from the claim in question had been left for the test of fire , he encountered a homely , little , dried-up woman who was scooting about from store to store with astonishing celerity of motion .