noon
He kin tell who dis man is , an ' all erbout ` im . '' She made a bowl of gruel , and fed it , drop by drop , to the sick man . This roused him somewhat from his stupor , but when Dinah thought he had enough of the gruel , and stopped feeding him , he closed his eyes again and relapsed into a heavy sleep that was so closely akin to unconsciousness as to be scarcely distinguishable from it . When old Needham came home at noon , his wife , who had been anxiously awaiting his return , told him in a few words the story of Cicely 's discovery and of the subsequent events . Needham inspected the stranger with a professional eye . He had been something of a plantation doctor in his day , and was known far and wide for his knowledge of simple remedies . The negroes all around , as well as many of the poorer white people , came to him for the treatment of common ailments .