three o'clock sharp
The Wellington riot began at three o'clock in the afternoon of a day as fair as was ever selected for a deed of darkness . The sky was clear , except for a few light clouds that floated , white and feathery , high in air , like distant islands in a sapphire sea . A salt-laden breeze from the ocean a few miles away lent a crisp sparkle to the air . At three o'clock sharp the streets were filled , as if by magic , with armed white men . The negroes , going about , had noted , with uneasy curiosity , that the stores and places of business , many of which closed at noon , were unduly late in opening for the afternoon , though no one suspected the reason for the delay ; but at three o'clock every passing colored man was ordered , by the first white man he met , to throw up his hands . If he complied , he was searched , more or less roughly , for firearms , and then warned to get off the street . When he met another group of white men the scene was repeated .