twelve o'clock
I also had on a wig , but it was one of the _ fussy _ kind , and made my head look as though guiltless of a comb or brush for many months . To beautify my complexion I smeared it over with soot , and when I regaled myself with a glance at our six by nine glass , I was satisfied that no living man could tell whether I was a dirty white man or a dirty negro . Our costumes consisted of blue flannel shirts , with coarse canvas trousers , very much soiled and very stiff ; but they were made loose , with very deep pockets , for the express purpose of carrying a brace of pistols or huge pocket knives . A few minutes past twelve o'clock the inspector gave his peculiar knock , and we admitted him . He had on a suit of clothing that formerly belonged to a miner who had passed two or three weeks under ground digging through a stratum of clay , and of course he had not spared his garments , for they were so besmeared that it would have puzzled a conjurer to have defined the original color of the cloth . His wig was black , and contrasted with his saturnine complexion , and as long as he held his tongue he would have passed muster as a native of Italy . `` Well , '' inquired Mr. Brown , surveying our disguise with approval , `` is every thing ready ? ''