noon
Honest , I did n't think about Pa being under the tree , and I went into a field and got a hop pole , and put the small end up into the nest , and gouged the nest a couple of times , and when the boss hornet came out of the hole and looked sassy , and then looked back in the hole and whistled to the other hornets to come out and have a circus , and they began to come out , my chum and me run and climbed over a fence , and got behind a pile of hop poles that was stacked up . '' -LSB- Illustration : Helen Damnation p079 -RSB- `` I guess the hornets saw my Pa just as quick as they got out of the nest , cause pretty soon we heard Pa call to ` Helen Damnation , ' or some woman we did n't know , and then he took his coat , that he had been using for a pillow , and whipped around , and he slapped hisself on the shoulders , and then took the lunch basket and pounded around like he was crazy , and bime-by he started on a run towards town , holding his pants up , cause his suspenders was hanging down on his hips , and I never see a fat man run so , and fan himself with a basket . We could hear him yell , ` come on , boys . Hell is out for noon , ' and he went over a hill , and we did n't see him any more . We waited till near dark because we was afraid to go after the bags of nuts till the hornets had gone to bed , and then we came home . The bags were awful heavy , and I think it was real mean in Pa to go off and leave us , and not help carry the bags . '' `` I swan , '' says the grocery man , `` You are too mean to live .