noon
You jest remember that bush , an ' when we go back , we 'll fill some pails . I du n no when I 've made elderberry wine . '' Like her husband , she was vaguely excited ; she began to feel as if life would be all holidays . At noon , they stopped under the shadow of an elm-tree which , from its foothold in a field , completely arched the road ; and there they ate a lunch of pie and doughnuts , while the horses , freed from their headstalls , placidly munched a generous feed of oats , near by . Hattie and her mother accepted this picnicking with an air of apologetic amusement ; and when one or two passers-by looked at them , they smiled a little at vacancy , with the air of wishing it understood that they were by no means accustomed to such irregularities . `` I guess they think we 're gypsies , '' said Hattie , as one carriage rolled past . `` Well , they need n't trouble themselves , '' returned her mother , rising with difficulty to brush the crumbs from her capacious lap .