five o'clock
in the afternoon
They had some vague notions of the majesty of the law and the rights of the citizen , but in the passion of the moment these sunk into oblivion ; a white man had been killed by a negro . `` The Cap'n was an ole sodger , '' said one of his friends solemnly . `` He 'll sleep better when he knows that a co ` te-martial has be 'n hilt an ' jestice done . '' By agreement the lynchers were to meet at Tyson 's store at five o'clock in the afternoon , and proceed thence to the jail , which was situated down the Lumberton Dirt Road -LRB- as the old turnpike antedating the plank-road was called -RRB- , about half a mile south of the court-house . When the preliminaries of the lynching had been arranged , and a committee appointed to manage the affair , the crowd dispersed , some to go to their dinners , and some to secure recruits for the lynching party . It was twenty minutes to five o'clock , when an excited negro , panting and perspiring , rushed up to the back door of Sheriff Campbell 's dwelling , which stood at a little distance from the jail and somewhat farther than the latter building from the court-house . A turbaned colored woman came to the door in response to the negro 's knock .