the hour of six
Ours is a strange country , M'seur , governed since the beginning of our time by laws which we have made ourselves . To those who are waiting above no torture is too great for you . They have condemned you to death . This morning , exactly as the minute hand of your watch counts off the hour of six , you will be shot to death through one of these holes in the dungeon walls . And this -- this note from Meleese -- is the last thing I have to give you . '' He dropped a folded bit of paper on the table . Mechanically Howland reached for it .