six o'clock
He understood why Meleese had not revealed the names of his assailants at Prince Albert and Wekusko , he understood why she had fled from him after his abduction , and why Jean had so faithfully kept secrecy for her sake . She had fought to save him from her own flesh and blood , and Jean had fought to save him , and in these last minutes of his life he would liked to have had Croisset with him that he might have taken has hand and thanked him for what he had done . And because he had fought for him and Meleese the Frenchman 's fate was to be almost as terrible as his own . It was he who would fire the fatal shot at six o'clock . Not the brothers , but Jean Croisset , would be his executioner and murderer . The minutes passed swiftly , and as they went Howland was astonished to find how coolly he awaited the end . He even began to debate with himself as to through which hole the fatal shot would be fired .