three o'clock in the morning
A wind from the west sweeping over the long chain of the Blueridge , set the pines and hemlocks wailing on the higher slopes . There seemed no new cause for panic ; and folk began to return to their houses . All , however , awaited impatiently the return of day . Then suddenly , toward three o'clock in the morning , another alarm ! Flames leaped up above the rocky wall of the Great Eyrie . Reflected from the clouds , they illuminated the atmosphere for a great distance . A crackling , as if of many burning trees , was heard .