midday
Well , my birds are hungry , I reckon , and I 'll hobble out and feed 'em while this apple is roasting to the core . '' Raising himself with difficulty , he got upon his crutches and went to scatter his crumbs from the kitchen window . By the first of March the thaw came , and the snow melted in a day beneath the lavish spring sunshine . It was a week later that Christopher , coming from the woods at midday , saw Tucker sitting on his old bench by the damask rose-bush , in which the sap was just beginning to swell . The sun shone full on the dead grass , and the old soldier , with his chin resting in the crook of his crutch , was gazing straight down upon the earth . The expression of his large , kindly face was so radiant with enjoyment that Christopher quickened his steps and slapped him affectionately upon the shoulder . `` Is Fletcher dead , Uncle Tucker ? ''