SAN JUAN, P.R. — All day, the drums and the chants had blared through the streets outside La Fortaleza, the governor’s residence in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital.

But just before midnight on Wednesday, a silence fell over the crowd.

For nearly seven hours, Puerto Ricans had gathered to protest their embattled governor, Ricardo A. Rosselló, in hopes that days of demonstrations and political unrest would culminate with his resignation.

But as the night dragged on, many had begun to worry their activism would not be rewarded. Some believed he might not resign, perhaps plunging the country into further political divisions. And how would the crowds react if he did not step aside? A hot night. Mounds of empty beer cans. Weeks, months, years of pent-up energy.