midnight
This is my lucky night , you know . '' Realizing full well the lawlessness of the camp , June felt a bit nervous as she laid the money away . In the course of the evening , however , she gradually lost her fears . Some time after midnight , when the big front room of the bunk-house was empty , the outside door opened , admitting a billow of frost out of which emerged two men . They were strangers to June , and when she asked them if they wished beds they said `` No . '' They backed up to the stove and began staring at their surroundings curiously . It had never been June 's practice to forbid any man the comfort of her coal-burner , even though he lacked the price for a bed , but , remembering the money in her safe , she sharply ordered these two out .