nine o'clock
A great crowd began gathering about the tree , and was presently driven by askaris with whips into a mass on the far side of the tree from us . Whether purposely or not , they left a clear view from the hospital steps of all that should happen . Evidently warning had been sent out broadcast , for the inhabitants of village after village came trooping into town to watch , each lot led by its sultani in filthy rags and the foolish imitation crown his conquerors had supplied him at several times its proper price . The square was a dense sea of people before nine o'clock , and the askaris made the front few hundreds lie , and the next rows squat , in order that the men and women behind might see . Then at last out came the victim with his hands tied behind him and a bright red blanket on his loins . He was a proud-looking fellow . He halted a moment between his guard of German sergeants and eyed the crowd , and us , and the tree , and the noose .