half past eight
he asked himself , as he went rather heavily along the street toward his own house . It rained on that evening and for the first time in years Smoky Pete did not go into Main Street . He told himself that the rain kept him at home , but the thought did not satisfy him . All evening he moved restlessly about the house and at half past eight went to bed . He did not , however , sleep , but lay with his trousers on and with his pipe in his mouth , trying to think . Every few minutes he took the pipe from his mouth , blew out a cloud of smoke and swore viciously . At ten o'clock the farmer , who had owned the cow-pasture back of his house and who still kept his cows there , saw his neighbor tramping about in the rain in the field and saying things he had planned to say on Main Street in the hearing of the entire town .