midnight
There was nowhere else to go . If the gateway had been awful in its solitude , the Peak was still more desolate . There was nothing living there , except themselves and the dog that followed closely at their heels , making no excursions of its own . The hour was wearing toward midnight when they sank down by the boulder once more to watch the darkness disappear , and wait for they knew not what . The man built a huge fire , so that if any other waifs had been left by this wreck of a world they might see the beacon , and reply in some fashion . They did not talk , except now and then , in a half whisper , they gave monosyllabic queries and replies . The shock that had obliterated a continent seemed to deprive them of all active use of their senses .