noon
They squared them up , and laid them carefully in a curved line ten blocks long and three blocks high , with the requisite embrasures . Then they prepared their ammunition . They made snowballs by the score , and piled them in convenient heaps inside the barricade . By the time this work was finished it was noon . Then , leaving a sufficient force to guard the fortifications , the remainder of the troops sallied forth to luncheon , among them the leader of the Hilltops . At the luncheon table Pen took advantage of the temporary absence of his aunt to inform his grandfather , in a stage-whisper , that the long anticipated fight was scheduled for that afternoon . `` And , '' he added , `` we 've got the biggest snow fort you ever saw , and dead loads of snowballs inside . ''