ten o'clock
A full realisation of just what had been done the day before was clear now in the minds of all . Business was suspended ; nearly all the stores were closed . Since early morning the members of the League had put in an appearance and rode from point to point , their rifles across their saddle pommels . Then , by ten o'clock , the streets had begun to fill up , the groups on the corners grew and merged into one another ; pedestrians , unable to find room on the sidewalks , took to the streets . Hourly the crowd increased till shoulders touched and elbows , till free circulation became impeded , then congested , then impossible . The crowd , a solid mass , was wedged tight from store front to store front . And from all this throng , this single unit , this living , breathing organism -- the People -- there rose a droning , terrible note .