noon
Polly wondered for a moment whether she most wanted to laugh or cry . Homesickness and fatigue suggested the latter , but a wild sense of humor poised between the decrepit Mendoza and the deaf Mrs. Morgan won the day . Polly chuckled . Then realizing that it was nearly seven and that she had had nothing to eat since noon , she went to the counter and bought of a Mexican youth , evidently a helper , some crackers . They were in a box and looked a degree cleaner than anything else . The population had wearied of the American lady and had gone its various ways . Polly sat forlornly on a high stool and munched her crackers until Swartz returned .