noon
He was also quite a different person in the presence of his father from what he was when alone or in the presence of strangers . In the presence of his father , past generations spoke in his every word and action , he became sedate , deferential , leisurely . It was not fear of the elder man that caused this change , it was reflection from him . The shadows were long in the garden , and away across the pastures , glimpsed beyond the cypress hedge and bordering the cotton fields , the pond-shadows cast by the live oaks at noon had become river shadows , flowing eastward ; the murmur of bees filled the air like a haze of sound , and here and there as they passed a bush coloured flowers detached themselves and became butterflies . They sat down on a great old stone bench lichened and sun warmed to enjoy the view , and the Colonel talked of tobacco and politics and cotton , including them all in his conversation in the grand patriarchal manner . Phyl understanding little , and half drowsed by the warmth and the buzzing of the bees and the voice of the speaker , had given herself up to that lazy condition of mind which is the next best thing to sleep , when she was suddenly aroused . She was seated between Miss Pinckney and Silas .