midnight
They were rough fellows , and in their deep-throated profanity was a prayer . The strong ones struggled on , blind with weariness , but upheld by that desperate , unthinking courage that animates a bayonet charge . It seemed that every moment must see the beginning of that slow work of demolition which would send them all scurrying to safety ; but hour after hour the piling continued to hold and the fingers of steel to reach out , foot by foot , for the concrete pier which was their goal . At midnight of the 16th the last rivet was driven ; but the ice had gained to such an extent that the lower chord was buckled down-stream about eight inches , and the distance was growing steadily . Quickly the traveler was shifted to the false-work beyond the pier , and the men under Mellen 's direction fell to splitting out the blocking . As the supports were chopped away the mass began to crush the last few wedges ; there was a great snapping and rending of wood ; and some one , strained to the breaking-point , shouted : `` Look out ! There she goes ! ''