midnight
It was ten o'clock at night , and they were loafing indoors . Above the high tops of the pines the sky was still bright , but it was night in the cabin . They were lighted by the fire and by a stable lamp on the table . They had gradually fallen into the habit of lying abed late , and consequently they could not sleep before midnight . These evening hours were the hardest of all to put in . Big Jack Skinner , the oldest and most philosophic of the party -- a lean , sandy-haired giant -- sat in a rocking chair he had contrived from a barrel and stared into the fire with a sullen composure . Husky Marr and Black Shand Fraser were playing pinocle at the table , bickering over the game like a pair of ill-conditioned schoolboys .