midday
A dear old couple by the name of Hahn , living very close , soon became greatly interested in the child Edwin . Many times they listened with deepest sympathy to his cries of agony and terror , knowing that his cries were caused by cruel blows or kicks . Then when the little fellow , all bleeding and bruised , would be discovered hobbling about and endeavoring to comprehend what was expected of him that he might the more perfectly perform the task THat had been assigned him , their hearts were filled with indignation and pity . `` I do n't see how it is , '' said Mrs. Hahn one day to her husband at the close of the midday meal . `` Now , that Mrs. Fischer seems in some ways to be a pretty good sort of woman , but when she speaks to her son , she acts like Satan himself . Only yesterday I saw her out cleaning up the yard , and she seemed quite good-natured until she discovered Ed coming out to help her . Then , without telling him where to get it , she told him to hustle around and find her a picket , for she wanted to fix the fence .