noon
A tremendous whack came down on Tom 's shoulders , and its duplicate on Joe 's ; and for the space of two minutes the dust continued to fly from the two jackets and the whole school to enjoy it . The boys had been too absorbed to notice the hush that had stolen upon the school awhile before when the master came tiptoeing down the room and stood over them . He had contemplated a good part of the performance before he contributed his bit of variety to it . When school broke up at noon , Tom flew to Becky Thatcher , and whispered in her ear : `` Put on your bonnet and let on you 're going home ; and when you get to the corner , give the rest of 'em the slip , and turn down through the lane and come back . I 'll go the other way and come it over 'em the same way . '' So the one went off with one group of scholars , and the other with another . In a little while the two met at the bottom of the lane , and when they reached the school they had it all to themselves .