midnight
For the last two weeks the thermometer had stood abnormally high during the day-long sunshine ; and the metallic dust in the roads over mineral ranges pricked the skin like red-hot needles . In the deepest woods the aromatic sap stood in beads on felled logs and splintered tree-shafts ; even the mountain night breeze failed to cool these baked and heated fastnesses . There were ominous clouds of smoke by day that were pillars of fire by night along the distant valleys . Some of the nearer crests were etched against the midnight sky by dull red creeping lines like a dying firework . The great hotel itself creaked and crackled and warped though all its painted , blistered , and veneered expanse , and was filled with the stifling breath of desiccation . The stucco cracked and crumbled away from the cornices ; there were yawning gaps in the boarded floors beneath the Turkey carpets . Plate-glass windows became hopelessly fixed in their warped and twisted sashes , and added to the heat ; there was a warm incense of pine sap in the dining-room that flavored all the cuisine .