noon
Although the hour was early , the politician was not at home . His wife , a frail little woman , came to the door and extended a flexible speaking trumpet that hung about her shoulders . `` No , '' she said in reply to Jim 's question , `` he 's down on the artesian road watching a job . He wo n't be back till noon . '' The road in question leads from the city to the artesian well a few miles away . Jim turned his horses and went back through the town and out toward the country . He found Blaney just inside the city limits , sitting on a curb and overseeing two bosses and a gang of laborers , who were tearing up the macadam with the destructive enthusiasm of the hired sewer digger .