three in the afternoon
Steve was worn down to actual thinness . And it would have taken a careful eye to have selected the chief from their ranks that Sunday . The huge timbers had dropped into place like bits of jig-sawed puzzle . At three in the afternoon , too tired both in body and soul for elation , Steve watched them drive home the last spike and heard their hoarse effort at a cheer . He had turned to start toward his shack , not like a man who knows that the end of a well-nigh hopeless task is in sight , but like a beaten man . The first of May meant more to Steve than any clause of the East Coast Company 's contract could convey . He had not had even one letter since he put her upon her train .