noon
They 're nervy and yet they 're careful and so I always hire 'em ; but when we were doing this work down in the stope of the Last Chance , they began talking about Mother Trigedgo . It seems she 'd told the fortune of a boy or two -- they were all of them boarding at her house -- and she was so worried she could hardly cook on account of them working in this mine . It was swelling ground and there were a lot of old workings where the timbering had given way ; and to tell you the truth I did n't like it myself , although I would n't admit it . '' `` Well , it was the twenty-second of April , and all that morning we could hear the ground working over head and when it came noon we went up above , as we says , for a breath of fresh air . But while we were eating , there was a Cousin Jack named Chambers fetched up this old talk about Mother Trigedgo , and how she 'd predicted he 'd be killed in a cave if he did n't quit working in the stope ; and when our half-hour 's nooning was up he says : ` I 'll not go down that shaft ! ' `` We were all badly scared , because that ground was always moving , and finally we agreed that we 'd take a full hour off and work till five o'clock . Well , we waited till after one before we went to the collar and just as I was stepping into the cage the whole danged stope caved in ! ''