three o'clock
To Orde 's satisfaction , the sheriff did not reappear . Reed evidently now pinned his faith to the State troops . All night the work went on , the men spelling each other at intervals of every few hours . By three o'clock the main abutments had been removed . The gate was then blocked to prevent its fall when its nether support should be withdrawn , and two men , leaning over cautiously , began at arm 's - length to deliver their axe-strokes against the middle of the sill-timbers of the sluice itself , notching each heavy beam deeply that the force of the current might finally break it in two . The night was very dark , and very still . Even the night creatures had fallen into the quietude that precedes the first morning hours .