About midnight
`` That 's what an outbreak is , an ' you can see for yourself what will happen to us if one of 'em gets loose in Barrington . I wish ' t somebody would come along from over town so ' t I could ax him how things is goin ' there . '' But no one came , and for long hours Bud Goble sat there , listening and peering into the darkness , and in momentary expectation of hearing or seeing something alarming . About midnight , however , the excitement began . At that hour Bud mustered up courage enough to start on a trip around the cabin , and when he got to the back of it , where he could look through the tops of the trees toward Mr. Riley 's house , he stopped as if he had suddenly been deprived of the power to go a step farther . The sky in that direction was glowing with a brighter red than he had ever seen at sunset , and the longer he looked at it , the brighter it grew . Beyond a doubt Mr. Riley 's house was on fire .