midday
Well , there ai n't nothin ' round here to steal . Y ' can both sleep in the hands ' house back yonder and hop to meals when the bell rings . There 's some old hats in the barn ; shed them pies y ' got on yer heads and try t ' look like honest men anyhow . '' They partook of the generous midday meal provided in a big screened porch adjoining the kitchen . Half a dozen other laborers , regularly attached to Eliphalet 's section of rich land , eyed the newcomers with the disdain born of their long tenure . Perky was a capital actor ; no one would have imagined that he had ever seen either of the new hands before . In the near-by fields the wheat shimmered goldenly in the sun , quivering into the perfection that would bring it under the knife a few days later .