ten o'clock
Job had read how one like unto an angel walked in the furnace of old with God 's saints ; he felt , now , that the Christ came and sat by his side in those lonely prison hours . * * * * * It was Monday , the ninth of August . The sun 's rays beat down on the dusty streets of Gold City and glared from the white walls of the court house . At ten o'clock the trial would commence -- the great trial of `` The State vs. Job Teale Malden . '' The streets were thronged with vehicles ; it was like one of the old-time Sunday picnics , only saint as well as sinner was here . The Yellow Jacket had closed down by common consent of all , and hundreds of workingmen were pouring into town in stages and buckboards , on horseback and on foot . The old court house was packed to its utmost capacity ; the gallery and stairs were one mass of writhing humanity .