noon
he added , as he walked on down the road toward the creek , musing . `` And the spring -- I wonder if that 's there yet . I 'd like a drink . '' The sun seemed hotter than at noon , and he walked slowly . At the bridge that spanned the meadow brook , just where it widened over a sandy ford , he paused again . He hung over the rail and looked at the minnows swimming there . `` I wonder if they 're the same identical chaps that used to boil and glitter there when I was a boy -- looks so .