midday
Fred did the cooking for both of them as part of his own labor . Some of his old friends , meeting him in Main Street on his visits to town , commiserated him on his lot ; and others thought William Holton ought to do something for Fred , as it was understood that he was backing Charles in his enterprises . Still other gossips , pointing to the failure of the Mexican ventures , inclined to the belief that Fred was a dull fellow , and that he would do as well on the farm as anywhere else . On a Sunday afternoon in this same November , Fred had cleaned up after his midday meal with the hired man and was sprawled on an old settle reading when a motor arrived noisily in the dooryard . Charles was driving and with him were three strangers . Fred went out to meet his brother , who introduced his companions as business men from Indianapolis . `` We 're taking a run over the route of the new trolley line you 've probably read about in the papers .