noon
The glory of the summer paled and faded ; the crimson and gold of the harvest days had fled before the cold winds of autumn , and now the trees along the bank of the creek stood leafless and bare , trembling and swaying as if in dread of the long winter that would soon be upon them . The harvest had been cut and gathered in , and now , when the weather was fine , the industrious hum of the threshing-machine came on the wind for many miles , and the column of blue smoke which proclaimed the presence of a `` mill '' shot up in all directions . At the Black Creek Stopping-House the real business of the year had begun , for every day heavily-loaded wheat wagons wound slowly over the long trail on their way to Brandon , and the Stopping-House became the foregathering place of all the farmers in the settlement . At noon the stable yard presented a lively appearance as the `` boys '' unhitched their steaming teams and led them to the long , straggling straw-roofed stables . The hay that John Corbett had cut on the meadows of Black Creek and stacked beside the stables was carried in miniature stacks which completely hid the man who carried them into the mangers , while the creaking windlass of the well proclaimed that the water-troughs were being filled . The cattle who foraged through the straw stack in the field near by always made the mistake of thinking that they were included in the invitation , much to the disgust of Peter Rockett , the chore boy , who drove them back with appropriate remarks . Inside of the Stopping-House the long dining-room , called `` the room , '' was a scene of great activity .