noon
There was a faint sensation of something moving inside the tough , metallic-looking shell . It shook almost as a normal egg might , but not quite . Hetty set the strange object on a shelf and turned to the task of cleaning up . * * * * * Johnny Culpepper , the ranch 's other full-time hand and Hetty 's assistant manager , drove the pickup into the yard just before noon . He parked in the shade of the huge cottonwood tree beside the house and bounced out with an armload of mail and newspapers . Inside the kitchen door , he dumped the mail on the sideboard and started to toss his hat on a wall hook when he noticed the condition of the room . Hetty was dishing out fragrant , warmed-over stew into three lunch dishes on the table .