noon
The day passed , the morning came . There at the door sat now the four reconstructed dogs , and with them four others requiring reconstruction . This day also passed , and another morning came ; and now sixteen dogs , eight of them newly crippled , occupied the sidewalk , and the people were going around . By noon the broken legs were all set , but the pious wonder in the good physician 's breast was beginning to get mixed with involuntary profanity . The sun rose once more , and exhibited thirty-two dogs , sixteen of them with broken legs , occupying the sidewalk and half of the street ; the human spectators took up the rest of the room . The cries of the wounded , the songs of the healed brutes , and the comments of the onlooking citizens made great and inspiring cheer , but traffic was interrupted in that street . The good physician hired a couple of assistant surgeons and got through his benevolent work before dark , first taking the precaution to cancel his church membership , so that he might express himself with the latitude which the case required .