two o'clock
The final sputter of his dying , under the hose streams of his foes , sounded for all the world like a chuckle . It was as if this wandering creature had signified that he had accomplished his purpose in giving the department a good scare , and that he might as well stop . The firemen stood for a moment to catch breath , gazing on the havoc wrought by this wild half hour ; then , coiling up their hose , they went to await new orders . It was now almost two o'clock . The fire had been burning for four hours ; it had completely destroyed two entire city squares and part of a third , and its course was manifestly just begun . To the north and west it had strayed as far as it was to go , for the north wind made it impossible for it to spread farther in that direction , and its westward swing , as has just been seen , had been checked . The unrestrained main line of the conflagration was therefore almost due south , following the direction of the wind 's impulsion , but also it tended toward the east , since all great fires strive , fanlike , to open out .