Twelve o'clock exactly
Still it was hard work for men weakened by famine ; and it took them five hours of labour clearing away masses of rock , and floundering through black mud , often three feet deep , before they made their way to the bottom of the Logan shaft , and saw the light far above them -- the light that at one time they had never expected to see again . `` What o'clock is it now , sir ? '' Bill Haden asked Mr. Brook , who had from the beginning been the timekeeper of the party . `` Twelve o'clock exactly , '' he replied . `` It is four days and an hour since the pit fired . '' `` What day is it , sir ? for I 've lost all count of time . ''