a few
minutes before eleven o'clock
The others would n't let him . They got him up in a corner and he could n't break through . He told them he was getting pneumonia , that the draft would be the death of him , that he 'd take back what he said about the smoke almost suffocating him , -- still they surrounded him , and argued with him , and called him things he did n't feel physically able to call them , and at last he voted guilty . Smilk , haggard with worry , -- for he had come to think , as the hours went by without a verdict , that there would be a disagreement or , worse than that , an acquittal , in which case he would have to face the charge of bigamy that the district attorney had more than intimated , -- Smilk slouched dejectedly into the court room a few minutes before eleven o'clock and went through the familiar process of facing the jury while the jury faced him . He straightened up eagerly when the verdict was read . He took a long , deep breath . His eyes brightened , -- they almost twinkled , -- as they searched the room in quest of Mr. Yollop .