ten o'clock
We sympathized with Devore for having to carry so woful an incompetent upon his small and overworked crew ; we sympathized with the kindly , gentle , tiresome old major for his bungling , vain attempts to creditably cover the small and piddling assignments that came his way . I remember the date mighty well -- the third of July . For three days now the Democratic party , in national convention assembled at Chicago , had been in the throes of labor . It had been expected -- in fact had been as good as promised -- that by ten o'clock that evening the deadlock would melt before a sweetly gushing freshet of party harmony and the head of the presidential ticket would be named , wherefore in the Evening Press shop a late shift had stayed on duty to get out an extra . Back in the press-room the press was dressed . A front page form was made up and ready , all but the space where the name of the nominee would be inserted when the flash came ; and in the alley outside a picked squad of newsboys , renowned for speed of the leg and carrying quality of the voice , awaited their wares , meanwhile skylarking under the eye of a circulation manager . Besides , there was no telling when an arrest might be made in the Bullard murder case -- that just by itself would provide ample excuse for an extra .