noon
Halse had not come down ; and pretty soon we heard the Old Squire call him , at which Addison laughed a little as he glanced at me . At breakfast Halstead looked somewhat glum ; in fact , he did not look at Addison and me at all , if he could avoid it . That forenoon we hoed corn again and talked a good deal of the Fourth of July celebration which was to come off at the village the following week . Toward noon , however , word was sent us that the husband of a cousin of the Old Squire 's who resided in the town adjoining , to the eastward , had suddenly died , and that the funeral was to be at two o'clock that afternoon . No one of the family seemed much disposed to attend it . It appeared that the deceased had not been a highly respected citizen . It was said that he had died from the effects of a fit of intoxication .