noon
`` This here 's powerful weather for sweatin ' , '' he pleasantly observed , as he pulled a mullein leaf from the foot of the apple tree and placed it over his eyes . Then he turned over and in a moment was sleeping as quietly as a child . Dan got down from the logs and stood thoughtfully staring in the direction of the happy little town lying embosomed in green hills . That little town gave to him , as he stood there in the noon heat , a memory of deep gardens filled with fragrance , of open houses set in blue shadows , and of the bright fluttering of Confederate flags . For a moment he looked toward it down the hot road ; then , with a sigh , he turned away and wandered off to seek the outside shadow of a tent . As he flung himself down in the strip of shade , his gaze went longingly to the dim chain of mountains which showed like faint blue clouds against the sky , while his thoughts returned , as a sick man 's , to the clustered elm boughs and the smooth lawn at Chericoke , and to Betty blooming like a flower in a network of sun and shade . The memory was so vivid that when he closed his eyes it was almost as if he heard the tapping of the tree-tops against the roof , and felt the pleasant breeze blowing over the sweet-smelling meadows .