noon
Harry and Tom ran out to the road , and stood there petrified with astonishment . Where was the snow ? It was all gone , excepting a little here and there in the shade of the fence corners . The day had turned out to be quite mild , and the sun , which was now nearly at its noon height , had melted it all away . Here was a most unlooked-for state of affairs ! What was to be done ? The boys ran back to the sled , and the colored men ran out to the road , and everybody talked and nobody seemed to say anything of use .