midnight
Little by little the three conspirators worked out a fairly feasible plan . There were numerous chances for failure in it , yet the very recklessness of the conception was an advantage . Winston , his face darkened as a slight disguise , and dressed in the rough garments of a typical miner , was to hide beside the footpath leading between the `` Independence '' bunk-house and the shaft . Should one of the men chance to loiter behind the others when the working shift changed at midnight , Brown was to attend to him silently , relying entirely upon his giant strength to prevent alarm , while Winston was promptly to take the vacated place among the descending workmen . By some grim fate this crudely devised scheme worked like a well-oiled piece of machinery . A sleepy-headed lout , endeavoring to draw on his coat as he ran blindly after the others , stumbled in the rocky path and fell heavily . Almost at the instant Stutter Brown had the fellow by the throat , dragging him back into the security of the cedars , and Winston , lamp and dinner-pail in hand , was edging his way into the crowded cage , his face turned to the black wall .