noon
Simon shivered at the words as if a cold wind had passed , striking a chill through the intense August day . The professor kept school that morning as usual , but he did not sit on the settle against the lean-to , and when Patsy Lenders undertook to hoist himself up on it , the boy got his ears boxed . Patsy stated afterwards , in maintenance of the justifiable pride of `` ten years goin ' on eleven , '' that he `` would n't ha ' took it from anybody but the perfessor , '' and he `` would n't ha ' took it from him , if ' t had n't a ben for that snake ! '' It was high noon . The sun was pouring down upon the group of children in the clearing in front of the lop-sided cabin , and upon the empty settle up against it ; upon the brooding heights that spanned the horizon beyond the Gulch , upon the fragrant pine-trees close at hand . Simon Jr. had just strayed along with a blossoming yucca protruding from his mouth , and the professor had driven him farther up the slope . Returning from this short excursion , Simon beheld two figures coming up the Gulch ; a blond-bearded man , and a little girl in blue .