noon
When he came in , at dusk , the testers regarded him with unconcealed respect ; there was genuine admiration mingled with the congratulations offered him by the car 's designers . He had become , after Gerard , the most conspicuous man in the great automobile plant . Devlin crawled out of his seat and complained of nausea . On the third day of practice , when Corrie brought the car back to the factory at noon , Rupert suddenly walked up to him and broke the silence of months . `` What 's the matter with your fifth cylinder ? '' he demanded . Amazed , Corrie slipped off his mask and turned his fatigued face to the questioner .