About
one o'clock
The strange damp smell , which had greeted his nostrils when the cage began to descend with him that morning , was still strong , though not so overpowering as it had been at first . The subtle shifting shadows cast from his little lamp were becoming familiar , and his nervousness was not now so pronounced , though he was still easily startled if anything unusual took place . The sound of the first shot in the pit nearly frightened him out of his wits , and he listened nervously to every dull report with a strange uneasiness . About one o'clock his father called to him . `` Dinna tak ' that hutch oot the noo , Robert . Just let it staun ' , an ' sit doon an ' tak ' yir piece . Ye 'll be hungry , an ' John an ' me will be out the noo if we had this shot stemmed . ''