ten o'clock
He roved forlornly about Portland , beside the gloomy pipe-valiant Morton , fighting two fears : the company might not need all of them this trip , and he might have to wait ; secondly , if he incredibly did get shipped and started for England the steers might prove dreadfully dangerous . After intense thinking he ejaculated , `` Gee ! it 's be bored or get gored . '' Which was much too good not to tell Morton , so they laughed very much , and at ten o'clock were signed on for the trip and led , whooping , to the deck of the S.S. _ Merian _ . Cattle were still struggling down the chutes from the dock . The dirty decks were confusingly littered with cordage and the cattlemen 's luggage . The Jewish elders stared sepulchrally at the wilderness of open hatches and rude passageways , as though they were prophesying death .