ten o'clock
With a shout the men rose , stretched their legs and washed their hands in the troughs filled with water , provided for the occasion . They sat down to supper at four long tables placed in the kitchen and work room , where the quilts had been stretched . Never had the Boy seen such a feast -- barbecued shoat , turkeys , ducks , chickens , venison , bear meat , sweet potatoes , wild honey , corn dodgers , wheat biscuit , stickies and pound cake -- pound cake until you could n't eat another mouthful and still they brought more ! After the supper the young folks sang and danced before the big fires until ten o'clock , and then the crowd began to thin , and by eleven the last man was gone and the harvest festival was over . It was nearly twelve before the Boy knelt at his mother 's knee to say his prayers . When the last words were spoken he still knelt , his eyes gazing into the flickering fire . The mother bent low : `` What are you thinking about , Boy ?