twenty-five minutes after eleven P.M.,
November 11, 1890
He counted the strokes -- eleven . Then he smiled and tried to speak again . `` Almost -- live out -- birthday -- seventy -- tombstone -- all right . '' He closed his eyes , and , inasmuch as the town clock furnishes the official time for Rearward , the published report of Tommy McGuffy 's going records that he passed at twenty-five minutes after eleven P.M. , November 11 , 1890 . Very few people know that time turned back one hour and a half in order that the reputation of Tommy McGuffy 's tombstone for veracity might be spotless in the eyes of future generations . Billy Skidmore , the sexton , arranged to have Rearward time ready for the sun when it rose upon the following morning . He was a bachelor , and he owned a little tobacco store in the suburbs .