noon
Whenever North looked down into the alley that morning , there was the human grouping with its changing personnel . Men sprawled on the piles of boards , or lounged about the yard , while the murmur of their idle talk reached him in his cell . The visible excuse which served to bring them there was commonplace enough , but it was invested with the interest of a coming tragedy , and North 's own thoughts went forward to the time when the fence should be finished , when somewhere within the space it inclosed would stand his gallows . Shortly before the noon whistles blew , two little girls came into the alley with the carpenters ' dinner pails . They made their way timidly through the crowd , casting shy glances to the right and left ; at a word from one of the men they placed the dinner pails beside the pile of lumber and hurried away ; but at the street corner they paused , and with wide eyes stared up in the direction of North 's window . A moment later the whistles sounded and the idlers dispersed , while the two mechanics threw down their hammers and took possession of the lumber pile . After they had eaten , they lighted their pipes and smoked in silent contentment ; but before their pipes were finished the crowd began to reassemble , and all that afternoon the shifting changing groups stood about in the alley , watching the building of the fence .