About midday
When the other prisoners were loosed from their fetters and marched off under guard to their usual work , he alone was left . Evidently he was to be kept in confinement with a view to quickening his resolution . Some hours passed . About midday he heard footsteps approaching the shed . The door was opened , and in the entrance Diggle appeared . `` You will excuse me , '' he said with a sniff , `` if I remain on the threshold of your apartment . It is , I fear , but imperfectly aired . ''