noon
The latter exhibited no especial symptoms of satisfaction at securing such a helper . He told the young man that his particular care would be the dynamite -- to handle the boxes , store them in the little shed , unpack the sticks , and follow the drills , planting the rendrock ready for the blast that was to topple the hillock into the pit . Mr. Wagg explained to the warden , after a time , that the dynamite could be planted more safely and to better advantage when the drillers were off the job . Therefore , Vaniman was detailed to help during the noon hour while the prisoners were at dinner . But , even when they were alone together , day after day , Mr. Wagg maintained his reticence . Once in a while he did wink at Vaniman . The winks grew more frequent when Mr. Wagg began to connect up the dynamite pockets in the hill with wires .