midnight
The door was locked . A constable from the police department knocked upon it long without avail . Everything was very still about the building ; even the crowd which gathered there to await developments conversed in whispers . At midnight several cloaked forms emerged , walking rapidly up the street . Then the California fire engine bell began to toll . James King of William , a local banker , leaving Vigilante quarters almost collided with Broderick . `` What does that mean ? ''