noon
The dazzling pictures called up by the speaker 's words were still moving confusedly in his brain . They faded at last and he moved with a sigh and went out to feed the horses their oats . The dinner made a beautiful scene , the most idyllic in the farmer 's life . The sun , now high noon , fell through the leaves in patches of quivering light upon the white table-cloth , spread out upon the planks , and it fell upon the fair hair of girls , and upon the hard knotted fingers of men and women grown old in toil . The rattle of dishes , the harsh-keyed , unwonted laughter of the women , and the sounding invitations to dinner given and taken filled the air . The long plank seats placed together made capital tables , and eager children squatted about wistfully watching the display of each new delicacy . The crude abundance of the Iowa farm had been brought out to make it a great dinner .