four o'clock
The hours that followed were anxious ones for the two remaining in Meadow Creek Valley . They began a hunt for the dynamite as soon as the McKenzies had disappeared . Starting at the McKenzie shack and discovery hole they widened the search in a circle which finally included the valley and the sides of the adjoining mountains , with a single important omission ; it did not occur to either of them to examine their own premises further than to assure themselves that neither tool house nor tunnel had suffered any damage from their `` friends the enemy . '' At four o'clock came the first signs of dusk and , discouraged , the partners moved slowly across the valley . Half-way across , Ross chanced to glance up at the stovepipe projecting from the roof of their shack . `` A fire ! '' he shouted .