one o'clock
Music could be heard in the air , for the Riverport Brass Band had decided to honor the great occasion by playing at intervals all day long . Ample preparations had been made for seeing the grand finish , which , as with the start , was to take place on the great level commons bordering the town , and alongside of which the main road ran . Here a grand stand had been erected for the use of the honored guests from Mechanicsburg and Paulding , as well as several other smaller places , each of which was also sending its quota of eager eyed strong-lunged boys to root for their favorite team . The race was scheduled to start at exactly one o'clock . This had been settled on as the best hour , since it would allow everybody who expected to be present to reach town , and also give the runners plenty of time to cover the course . No doubt that morning dragged along worse than any boy in Riverport had ever known time to drag before . They wandered back and forth in droves , all excited , and anxious to hear the latest reports concerning the condition of those who were expected to compete .