noon
`` Hold on a minute , '' John shouted , as the wagon began to move , `` what 'll I call you ? '' The other answered over his shoulder , `` My name is Dan . '' All that day they worked , each grimly determined to handle more grain than the other . Before noon the spirit of the contest had infected the whole force . Every hand on the place worked as if on a wager . The threshing crew were all from distant parts of the country , and no one knew who it was that had so recklessly matched his strength and staying power against John Gardner , the acknowledged champion for miles around . Bets were freely laid ; rough , but good natured chaff flew from mouth to mouth ; and now and then a hearty yell echoed over the field , but the two men in the contest were silent ; they scarcely exchanged a word .