noon
Unused to farm labour , as they were , their muscles were , however , far from being soft and easily tired . Tom and Bob , who excelled at athletics , surprised Jim Ellison with the amount of hay they could stack up into cocks , or , again , the amount they could spread and scatter ; and they were tireless in following him through all the broad field . Henry Burns and Little Tim were of the wiry sort that never seemed to weary ; while Harvey made the pile of split wood grow in a way that made Mrs. Ellison 's eyes stick out . Then , at noon , when the big farm dinner-bell rang , there was a great table spread for them in the long dining-room , fairly creaking with an array of good things to eat ; with plenty of rich milk and doughnuts and home-made gingerbread to finish up with . Little Tim 's thin face seemed to be almost bulging when he had done ; and he ate his sixth doughnut in gallant style . He was nearly wild with delight , too , late that afternoon , when he got permission to fish the famous Ellison trout pool ; and he came back in time for supper with a fine string of the fish , brilliantly spotted fellows , which Mrs. Ellison fried to a crisp for the crew of boy farmers when their day 's work was over . There came a little knock at the door when they were eating supper , and Bess Thornton , come for a pitcher of milk , looked in at the group of merry youngsters .