seven
o'clock
For many years there had been installed in Cardigan 's mill a clock set to United States observatory time and corrected hourly by the telegraph company . It was the only clock of its kind in Sequoia ; hence folk set their watches by it , or rather by the whistle on Cardigan 's mill . With a due appreciation of the important function of this clock toward his fellow-citizens , old Zeb Curry , the chief engineer and a stickler for being on time , was most meticulous in his whistle-blowing . With a sage and prophetic eye fixed upon the face of the clock , and a particularly greasy hand grasping the whistle-cord , Zeb would wait until the clock registered exactly six-fifty-nine and a half -- whereupon the seven o'clock whistle would commence blowing , to cease instantly upon the stroke of the hour . It was old Zeb 's pride and boast that with a single exception , during the sixteen years the clock had been in service , no man could say that Zeb had been more than a second late or early with his whistle-blowing . That exception occurred when Bryce Cardigan , invading the engine room while Zeb was at luncheon , looped the whistle-cord until the end dangled seven feet above ground . As a consequence Zeb , who was a short , fat little man , was forced to leap at it several times before success crowned his efforts and the whistle blew .