midnight
With the heat of the lengthening June days a vast steam rose from the chill waters of the river , marking in ominous windings the channel of the main stream through a yellow sea which , ignoring the usual landmarks of trees and dunes , flanked the current broadly on either side . Late in the afternoon of the day that Dicksie with Marion sought McCloud , a storm drifted down the Topah Topah Hills , and heavy showers broke across the valley . At nightfall the rain had passed and the mist lifted from the river . Above the bluffs rolling patches of cloud obscured the face of the moon , but the distant thunder had ceased , and at midnight the valley near the bridge lay in a stillness broken only by the hoarse calls of the patrols and far-off megaphones . From the bridge camp , which lay on high ground near the grade , the distant lamps of the track-walkers could be seen moving dimly . Before the camp-fire in front of McCloud 's tent a group of men , smoking and talking , sat or lay sprawled on tarpaulins , drying themselves after the long day . Among them were the weather-beaten remnants of the old guard of the mountain-river workers , men who had ridden in the caboose the night that Hailey went to his death , and had fought the Spider Water with Glover .