midnight
Two of the roots , as large as younger trees , tossed their blackened and bare limbs high in the air . The spring -- the insignificant cause of this vast disruption -- gurgled , flashed , and sparkled at the base ; the limpid baby fingers that had laid bare the foundations of that fallen column played with the still clinging rootlets , laved the fractured and twisted limbs , and , widening , filled with sleeping water the graves from which they had been torn . `` It had been going on for years , down there , '' said Low , pointing to a cavity from which the fresh water now slowly welled , `` but it had been quickened by the rising of the subterranean springs and rivers which always occurs at a certain stage of the dry season . I remember that on that very night -- for it happened a little after midnight , when all sounds are more audible -- I was troubled and oppressed in my sleep by what you would call a nightmare ; a feeling as if I was kept down by bonds and pinions that I longed to break . And then I heard a crash in this direction , and the first streak of morning brought me the sound and scent of water . Six months afterwards I chanced to find my way here , as I told you , and gave it your name . I did not dream that I should ever stand beside it with you , and have you christen it yourself . ''