noon
When she saw Adam , 3d , coming she stuck her note under the hook on which she had seen her father hang his hat all her life , and carrying the telescope in the clothes basket covered with a rumpled sheet , she passed across the yard and handed it over the fence to Adam , climbed that same fence , and they started toward Hartley . Kate put the sailor hat on her head , and sat very straight , an anxious line crossing her forehead . She was running away , and if discovered , there was the barest chance that her father might follow , and make a most disagreeable scene , before the train pulled out . He had gone to a far field to plow corn and Kate fervently hoped he would plow until noon , which he did . Nancy Ellen washed the dishes , and went into the front room to study , while Mrs. Bates put on her sunbonnet and began hoeing the potatoes . Not one of the family noticed that Monday 's wash was not on the clothes line as usual . Kate and Adam drove as fast as they dared , and on reaching town , cashed the check , decided that Nancy Ellen 's hat would serve , thus saving the price of a new one for emergencies that might arise , bought the shoes , and went to the depot , where they had an anxious hour to wait .