midday
Tom saw the effect of his action , and then wound the watch . When he put the timepiece to the ear of the chief , he became frightened and tore the chain from his neck in terror . The ticking timepiece was then carried around to the assembled warriors , who exhibited the same fear at its ` talking . ' An ample supply of food was then instantly set before us , and Tom went up to the chief , and tried to tell him what the instrument was for , and turned the hands to midday to show how it would tell the time of day . He finally put the chain around the savage 's neck , which the latter permitted . '' `` Did the watch have any mark by which it could be identified ? '' `` Nothing but the initials ' J L V ' on the inside of the case . ''