noon
He would have been stronger at any time in the affections of the men if the foreman had been less markedly considerate or against him entirely . ****** The days which followed were restful enough though hard , for Eugene found that the constant whirl of work which went on here , and of which he had naturally to do his share , was beneficial to him . For the first time in several years he slept soundly . He would don his suit of blue overalls and jumper in the morning a few minutes before the whistle blew at seven and from then on until noon , and from one o'clock until six he would carry shavings , pile lumber for one or several of the men in the yard , load or unload cars , help Big John stoke his boilers , or carry chips and shavings from the second floor . He wore an old hat which he had found in a closet at Mrs. Hibberdell 's , a faded , crumpled memory of a soft tan-colored sombrero which he punched jauntily to a peak and wore over one ear . He had big new yellow gloves which he kept on his hands all day , which were creased and frayed , but plenty good enough for this shop and yard . He learned to handle lumber nicely , to pile with skill , to `` take '' for Malachi Dempsey from the plane , to drive the jig-saw , and other curious bits .