noon
The young farmer had to resort to shifts and expedients on every hand , as he went along . The day before , while wandering in the wood , he had marked several white oaks of the right size for posts . He would have preferred cedars , of course ; but those trees were scarce on the Atterson tract -- and they might be needed for some more important job later on . When he came up to the house at noon to feed the stock and make his own frugal meal in the farm house kitchen , the posts were cut . After dinner he harnessed the horse to the farm wagon , and went down for the posts , taking the rolls of wire along to drop beside the fence . The horse was a steady , willing creature , and seemed to have no tricks . He did not drive very well on the road , of course ; but that was n't what they needed a horse for .