noon
Lovely ! If only all men were as genial and kindly disposed as this boy , how nice the world would be . '' He put on the gloves and found his work instantly easier for he could grasp the joists firmly and without pain . He worked on until noon when the whistle blew and he ate a dreary lunch sitting by himself on one side , pondering . After one he was called to carry shavings , one basket after another back through the blacksmith shop to the engine room in the rear where was a big shaving bin . By four o'clock he had seen almost all the characters he was going to associate with for the time that he stayed there . Harry Fornes , the blacksmith or `` the village smith , '' as Eugene came to call him later on , Jimmy Sudds , the blacksmith 's helper or `` maid-of-all-work '' as he promptly named him ; John Peters , the engineer , Malachi Dempsey , the driver of the great plane , Joseph Mews and , in addition , carpenters , tin-smiths , plumbers , painters , and those few exceptional cabinet makers who passed through the lower floor now and then , men who were about the place from time to time and away from it at others all of whom took note of Eugene at first as a curiosity .