two o'clock
It was really splendid the pluck and perseverance of the little lad . He picked and picked till his back ached ; he trudged to and fro till his small legs were tired ; and he defied wind , weariness , and wicked `` quillies , '' till his mother left her work and did the carrying for him , full of admiration for the kind little fellow who tried to help his brother . When Rob was dismissed , he found Teddy reposing in the bushel-basket quite used up , but unwilling to quit the field ; for he flapped his hat at the thieves with one grubby little hand , while he refreshed himself with the big apple held in the other . Rob fell to work and the ground was cleared before two o'clock , the nuts safely in the corn-barn loft , and the weary workers exulted in their success . But Frisky and his wife were not to be vanquished so easily ; and when Rob went up to look at his nuts a few days later he was amazed to see how many had vanished . None of the boys could have stolen them , because the door had been locked ; the doves could not have eaten them , and there were no rats about . There was great lamentation among the young Bhaers till Dick said , `` I saw Frisky on the roof of the corn-barn , may be he took them . ''