one o'clock
He ate his dinner without another word . It was beginning to cloud up . A thin , whitish , all-pervasive vapor which meant rain was dimming the sky , and Grant forced his hands to their utmost during the afternoon , in order to get most of the down hay in before the rain came . He was pitching from the load into the barn when Howard came by , just before one o'clock . It was windless there . The sun fell through the white mist with undiminished fury , and the fragrant hay sent up a breath that was hot as an oven-draught . Grant was a powerful man , and there was something majestic in his action as he rolled the huge flakes of hay through the door .