three in the afternoon
Much of bantering she endured ; such was the fate of every girl who married out of the fancy starch room . But Saxon was too happy to be hurt by the teasing , a great deal of which was gross , but all of which was good-natured . In the steam that arose from under her iron , and on the surfaces of the dainty lawns and muslins that flew under her hands , she kept visioning herself in the Pine Street cottage ; and steadily she hummed under her breath her paraphrase of the latest popular song : `` And when I work , and when I work , I 'll always work for Billy . '' By three in the afternoon the strain of the piece-workers in the humid , heated room grew tense . Elderly women gasped and sighed ; the color went out of the cheeks of the young women , their faces became drawn and dark circles formed under their eyes ; but all held on with weary , unabated speed . The tireless , vigilant forewoman kept a sharp lookout for incipient hysteria , and once led a narrow-chested , stoop-shouldered young thing out of the place in time to prevent a collapse . Saxon was startled by the wildest scream of terror she had ever heard .