About noon
For all response the stranger simply stared . `` Do n't hurt his feelings , boys , '' said Mr. Hobart kindly , `` he 's getting enjoyment in his own way , and I suspect that it 's the best way he knows of . '' Conscious of impoliteness , the boys subsided , and nothing more was thought of the stranger for several hours . About noon , however , as they were resting on the shore , he appeared before them with an old cigar box in his hand . `` Want some crickets and grasshoppers ? '' he asked timidly . `` I 've been catching them for you , if you want them . ''