six
o'clock
He could afford to lose the money better than he could afford to lose the season . Failing of work on Los Muertos , Vanamee had gone to Quien Sabe . Annixter , whom he had spoken to first , had sent him across the ranch to one of his division superintendents , and this latter , after assuring himself of Vanamee 's familiarity with horses and his previous experience -- even though somewhat remote -- on Los Muertos , had taken him on as a driver of one of the gang ploughs , then at work on his division . The evening before , when the foreman had blown his whistle at six o'clock , the long line of ploughs had halted upon the instant , and the drivers , unharnessing their teams , had taken them back to the division barns -- leaving the ploughs as they were in the furrows . But an hour after daylight the next morning the work was resumed . After breakfast , Vanamee , riding one horse and leading the others , had returned to the line of ploughs together with the other drivers . Now he was busy harnessing the team .