six o'clock
Hefty determined to walk off from the gang of workmen until he could drop into this grass and to lie there until night . This would be easy , as there was only one man to watch them , for they were all there for only ten days or one month , and the idea that they should try to escape was hardly considered . So Hefty edged off farther from the gang , and then , while the guard was busy lighting his pipe , dropped into the long grass and lay there quietly , after first ridding himself of his shoes and jacket . At six o'clock a bell tolled and the guard marched away , with his gang shambling after him . Hefty guessed they would not miss him until they came to count heads at supper-time ; but even now it was already dark , and lights were showing on the opposite bank . He had selected the place he meant to swim for -- a green bank below a row of new tenements , a place where a few bushes still stood , and where the boys of Harlem hid their clothes when they went in swimming . * * * * * At half-past seven it was quite dark , so dark , in fact , that the three lanterns which came tossing towards him told Hefty that his absence had been discovered .