noon
ON and on for the rest of the day walked Archie . His feet were sore , he was weak from hunger , and he was made miserable with being homesick . People who met him on the road turned around to look at the slender lad with the pale face and the weary step , but he kept walking on , stopping for nothing , and noticing no one . At noon he picked some apples in an orchard , and these appeased his hunger . When evening drew near , however , he felt that he could go without food no longer , so he did n't hesitate to stop at a house and ask for food . `` I know mother would give a boy food if one should come to our door , '' he said to himself , `` so I do not think it wrong for me to ask for food here . '' He was fortunate enough to strike a pleasant housewife , who took him in and made him sit down at the kitchen table , which she covered with good things to eat .