midnight
Kate said she had all the music she desired ; she proposed to be safe ; so she went and opened the sluiceway to reduce the pressure on the dam . The result was almost immediate . The water gushed through , lowering the current and lessening the fall . George grumbled all day , threatening half a dozen times to shut the sluice ; but Kate and the carpenter were against him , so he waited until he came slipping home after midnight , his brain in a muddle from drink , smoke , and cards . As he neared the dam , he decided that the reason he felt so badly was because he had missed hearing it all day , but he would have it to go to sleep by . So he crossed the bridge and shut the sluice gate . Even as he was doing it the thunder pealed ; lightning flashed , and high Heaven gave him warning that he was doing a dangerous thing ; but all his life he had done what he pleased ; there was no probability that he would change then .