nine
o'clock
He had been here , in sole charge , since the beginning ; the chief engineer , who lived at the other end of the town , only came round once a fortnight , so trustworthy did he consider his subordinate . He had laboured at the detailed plans , wrestled with measurements to scale , until his eyes ached . He had stood about the works in all weathers , had exercised a personal supervision over the men , and had never made a slip in his weekly reports . To write the latter correctly , to keep the Committee informed of the amount of cement used , of fresh piles driven , of water pumped out , of concrete put in , to notify casualties , as they occurred , in a manner that might suggest the Committee 's obligations under employers ' liability , but did not harrow their feelings ; to be at the works by nine o'clock every morning and not to leave till five ; to be either in the iron shanty called the engineer 's office , or supervising the making of concrete , or clambering about the massive beams and piles , or shouting through the telephone , or interviewing the ganger , or doing one of the hundred other things that were in the day 's work ; surely this was all that was required to be done , and he flattered himself that he had done it very well . And now the Works Committee were going to foist an assistant on him . Assistant ! The very name was a slight upon his capabilities , a slur on his independence .