noon
So they battled for that young life . More than once a shriek from Phoebe would echo to the farm that little Will was gone ; and yet he lived ; many a time the child 's father in his strength surveyed the perishing atom , and prayed to take the burden , all too heavy for a baby 's shoulders . In one mood he supplicated , in another cursed Heaven for its cruelty . There came a morning in early April when their physician , visiting Newtake before noon , broke it to husband and wife that the child could scarcely survive another day . He promised to return in the evening , and left them to their despair . Mrs. Blanchard , however , refused to credit this assurance , and cried to them to be hopeful still . In the afternoon Mr. Blee rode up from Monks Barton .