noon
They were rather unwieldy , but he planted them down heroically , and then proceeded to disentangle the Murphys and the Tuckers after the same fashion . `` I am very much obliged to you , '' he said with the same quiet seriousness when the work was finished , and Scotty took his seat wondering if the new master ever smiled . Most likely that grave , unbending manner was just the natural outcome of his inevitably stuck-up nature , he reflected . Affairs went harmoniously enough until school was dismissed for the noon recess . As soon as the word was given dinner-pails were seized , bread-and-butter , meat , pie , and cake began to appear and disappear again with equal rapidity ; a crowd of the bigger girls made preparations for brewing tea on the stove ; and before the new master could get on his overcoat and gloves preparatory to leaving , dinner was well under way , and the room was filled with a strong aroma of tea and pork . Scotty had gone to the door to administer a farewell snowball to the unclassified aliens who went home to the village for dinner . A prompt answer came hurtling back , and as he dodged into the porch with a derisive yell of laughter , he barely escaped knocking over the new master .