two
o'clock
There had been no regular preaching there of late , and the house had fallen into lamentable disrepair . The roof was getting leaky ; the wind had blown off several of the clapboards ; and a large patch of the plaster , directly over the pulpit , had fallen from the ceiling . Fall was now drawing on , with colder weather , and so , on the day of Uncle Hannibal 's talk , the old Squire sent Addison and me over to the chapel to kindle a fire in the big box stove and also to sweep out the place . We drove over in the morning -- the meeting was to begin at two o'clock -- and set to work at once . While we were sweeping up the débris we noticed insects flying round overhead . For a while , however , we gave them little heed ; Addison merely remarked that there was probably a hornets ' nest up in the loft , but that hornets would not molest any one if they were left alone . But after we had kindled a fire in the stove and the long funnel had begun to heat the upper part of the room , they began to fly in still greater numbers .