one o'clock before
He selected two or three of these and fastened them to the easel above the big stretcher where he could have them continually in his eye . He lit his pipe , rolled up his shirt-sleeves , and standing before the easel , began to sharpen a stick of charcoal with an old razor , drawing the blade toward him so as to keep the point of the stick from breaking . Then at last with a deep breath of satisfaction he began blocking in the first large construction lines of his picture . It was one o'clock before he knew it . He went downtown and had a hasty lunch , jealous of every moment that was not spent on his picture . The sight of it as he re-entered the room sent a thrill all over him ; he was succeeding better than he could have expected , doing better than he thought he would . He felt sure that now he should do good work ; every stage of the picture 's progress was an inspiration for the next one .