midnight
He talked of life as all knew it , of Gold City and facts no one could deny ; talked till waves of deepest emotion passed over the crowd like the wind over grain on the far-reaching prairies . The meeting broke up with cheers and hisses , and men went out to face a fight at the polls that was talked of for many a long day afterward . The ringing of the old church bell at dark on election day , the cheers sounding everywhere up and down the streets , the sour , scowling faces of Col. Dick and Dan as they slunk down the alley and in back of the Monte Carlo , told a story which thrilled the hearts of good citizens -- that righteousness and good government had won . That night , between midnight and dawn , Andrew Malden 's lumber mill went up in flame and smoke . Who did it ? No one knew ; no one doubted . The north wind was blowing , and the mill hands worked vigorously , worked heroically -- it meant bread and butter to them -- but they could not save it .