noon
Crossing over to Ingmar , who was again seated at the table , he said : `` Since I have taken your father 's watch from you , you must accept this one from me . '' He laid the watch on the table and went out , without even saying good-bye . The rest of the day he tramped the roads and bypaths . A couple of peasants who had come from a distance to trade with him hung around outside the shop from noon till evening . But no Tims Halvor appeared . *** Elof Ersson , the husband of Karin Ingmarsson , was the son of a cruel and avaricious peasant , who had always treated him harshly . As a child he had been half starved , and even after he was grown up his father kept him under his thumb .