midnight
he would call in a wildness of joy , and then pass his hand across his eyes , repeating : '' -- this is the man I hate more than anyone else in the world ! '' That she finally knew , that the tell-tale portion of her letter had been found when Bostwick was searched -- all this availed her nothing now , as she pleaded with Van to understand . He fought his fights , and ran his race , and returned to that line so many times that she feared it would kill him in the end . At midnight on that final day of struggling he lay quite exhausted and weak . His mind was still adrift upon its sea of dreams , but he fought his fights no more . The fever was still in possession , but its method had been changed . It had pinned him down as a victim at last , for resistance had given it strength .