Read the excerpt from “The Railroad Earth.”So there I am in dawn in my dim cell——2½ hours to go till the time I have to stick my railroad watch in my jean watchpocket and cut out Within these lines, where is the most appropriate place for a pause?

The em dash after “cell” signals a break in the sentence and creates the most natural pause. The words after it add an explanation of how much time remains: “2½ hours to go.” So the pause belongs after “cell.”

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.