midnight
A chimney , half of stone , half of clay and stick , stood starkly up in the gray rain and the swooping , shifting gray fog . It marked the site of a cabin burned long ago , and in such melancholy wise as it might it told of the home that had been . Now and again far-away lightning flashed on its fireless hearth ; a vacant bird 's - nest in a cranny duplicated the suggestions of desertion ; the cold mist crept in and curled up out of the smokeless flue with a mockery of semblance . The fire that had wrought its devastating will in the black midnight in the deep wilderness , so far from rescue or succor , had swiftly burned out its quick fury , and was sated with the humble household belongings . The barn , rickety , weather-beaten , deserted , and vacant , still remained , -- of the fashion common to the region , with a loft above , and an open wagonway between the two compartments below , -- and it was here that the inquest was held . It was near the scene of the tragedy , and occasionally a man would detach himself from the slow , dawdling , depressed-looking group of mountaineers who loitered in the open space beneath the loft , and traverse the scant distance down the bridle-path to gaze at the spot where the stranger 's body had lain , whence it had been conveyed to the nearest shelter at hand , the old barn , where the coroner 's jury were even now engaged in their deliberations . Sometimes , another , versed in all the current rumors , would follow to point out to the new-comer the details , show how the rain had washed the blood away , and fearfully mark the tokens of frantic clutches at the trees as the man had been torn from his horse .