about eleven
o'clock
His pain had gone , but he was conscious of a nervous tension and knew what it meant . A small blister on his hand annoyed him , he growled at comrades who got in his way , and swore when the gravel fell in the wrong place . Somehow he could not get the stuff to go where it ought . For all that , he felt no serious inconvenience until about eleven o'clock , when a stinging pain spread across the front of his body . For a few moments he leaned on his shovel and gasped , but the pang moderated and he roused himself when the foreman looked his way . He must try to hold out for another hour , and he savagely attacked his pile of stones . When the echoes of the whistle filled the hollow he had some trouble in reaching the bunk-house , but felt better after dinner and a smoke , which he enjoyed sitting on a box by the stove ; but the time for rest was short .