midday
At last he scattered handfuls of gold among the gaping peasantry , and while they were fighting for it among themselves , he went out into the fields , declaring that whosoever dared to follow him would be a dead man . And , indeed , no one had the courage to follow him but one man , and that man was the kopanitschar . `` Janko had looked for him all night long in order to kill him , but he had remained concealed in a hayrick till midday . At midday , he crept out of his hiding-place and went to look for Janko . He had no other weapon but a long , two-pronged wooden fork , which they use in those parts to toss hay . `` And he found Janko stretched out at full length in the meadow , and fast asleep . The kopanitschar caught him round the neck between the prongs of the fork , and pinned him fast to the ground .