noon
It was still uneasy about this when it noticed Ed near the nest the next morning , confirming its fears . It promptly broke up the net it had been re-establishing and pulled all units back in . Maybe if it left him strictly alone , he might still go on about his business , whatever that was , and let the Harn get back to its harvesting . * * * * * By noon , Ed was getting pretty stiff sitting in the tree . He climbed down and eased over toward the stump , watching where he set his feet . He was pretty sure the snakeproof pants would stop the stingers , but he saw no point in putting them to the test until he had to . About fifty yards away , he got a good view , and it did look like there might be a sizable hole under the stump .