noon
He ranged as he pleased and came for a pat or a look of confidence when he grew lonely , while the Harvester worked . At camp the man unhitched Betsy and tied her to the wagon and for several hours distributed buckets . Then he hung the kettles and gathered wood for the fire . At noon he returned to the cabin for lunch and brought back a load of empty syrup cans , and barrels in which to collect the sap . While the buckets filled at the dripping trees , he dug roots in the sassafras thicket to fill orders and supply the demand of Onabasha for tea . Several times he stopped to cut an especially fine tree . `` You know I hate to kill you , '' he apologized to the first one he felled .