midnight
His mental sufferings were so keen that his huge body trembled . He recognized how truly he had made `` a mess of it . '' He saw that all he had hoped to do for his daughter by crime would have been done for her by this marriage with Ranson , which would have made her a `` lady , '' made her rich , made her happy . Had it not been for his midnight raids she would have been honored , loved , and envied , even by the wife of the colonel herself . But through him disgrace had come upon her , sorrow and trouble . She would not be known as the daughter of Senator Ranson , but of Cahill , an ex-member of the Whyo gang , a highway robber , as the daughter of a thief who was serving his time in State prison . At the thought Cahill stepped backward unsteadily as though he had been struck .