noon
Webb , carrying a little basket lined with grapevine leaves , gleaned the long row of Antwerp raspberries . The first that ripen of this kind are the finest and most delicious , and their strong aroma announced his approach long before he reached the house . His favorite Triomphe de Grand strawberries , that had supplied the table three weeks before , were still yielding a fair amount of fruit , and his mother was never without her dainty dish of pale red berries , to which the sun had been adding sweetness with the advancing season until nature 's combination left nothing to be desired . By noon the heat was oppressive , and Alf and Ned were rolling on the grass under a tree , quite satiated for a time with two elements of a boy 's elysium , fire-crackers and cherries . The family gathered in the wide hall , through the open doors of which was a slight draught of air . All had donned their coolest costumes , and their talk was quite as languid as the occasional notes and chirpings of the birds without . Amy was reading a magazine in a very desultory way , her eyelids drooping over every page before it was finished , Webb and Burt furtively admiring the exquisite hues that the heat brought into her face , and the soft lustre of her eyes .