midnight
They had discovered gold . Afterward they had quarreled , probably over some division of it -- perhaps over the ownership of the very nuggets they had found ; and then , in the heat of their anger , had followed the knife battle . But where had they discovered the gold ? That was the question of supreme interest to the hunters , and they debated it until midnight . There were no mining tools in the camp ; no pick , shovel or pan . Then it occurred to them that the builders of the cabin had been hunters , had discovered gold by accident and had collected that in the buckskin bag without the use of a pan . There was little sleep in the camp that night , and with the first light of day the three were at work again .