ten o'clock
It was evident that the point had been first broken off and the fracture cunningly ground smoothly round so as to avoid detection . And it was whispered significantly among the C Bar boys that Braun 's gun had hung for the better-part of a day in the ranch blacksmith shop while he was employed on a distant irrigation ditch , and that Matlock had been refurbishing some branding Irons in the smithy during the interim . And one of the boys who had been friendly with the dead man found on the edge of the grindstone a deeply-cut indentation such as is made by the bite of casehardened steel . It was now ten o'clock and Matlock had not put in his appearance ; the smoke-dimmed atmosphere was heavy with expectancy but Douglass sat unconcernedly rolling cigarettes , occasionally making a bet and exchanging the rude badinage inseparable from the game . His face was sphinx-like in its immobility but the cold lethality of his eyes was apparent even to the inexperienced tenderfoot , who was growing strangely uncomfortable for some indefinable reason . The raucous clamor of the preceding hours had become unaccountably subdued and the soft flutter of the cards as they were dealt was distinctly heard . A sudden gust of wind slammed the insecurely fastened door with a sharp bang and a man sprang quickly behind the precarious shelter of the stove ; even Williams stiffened perceptibly in his chair .