about
two o'clock
In Packingtown the fertilizer is pure , instead of being a flavoring , and instead of a ton or so spread out on several acres under the open sky , there are hundreds and thousands of tons of it in one building , heaped here and there in haystack piles , covering the floor several inches deep , and filling the air with a choking dust that becomes a blinding sandstorm when the wind stirs . It was to this building that Jurgis came daily , as if dragged by an unseen hand . The month of May was an exceptionally cool one , and his secret prayers were granted ; but early in June there came a record-breaking hot spell , and after that there were men wanted in the fertilizer mill . The boss of the grinding room had come to know Jurgis by this time , and had marked him for a likely man ; and so when he came to the door about two o'clock this breathless hot day , he felt a sudden spasm of pain shoot through him -- the boss beckoned to him ! In ten minutes more Jurgis had pulled off his coat and overshirt , and set his teeth together and gone to work . Here was one more difficulty for him to meet and conquer ! His labor took him about one minute to learn .