noon
He was not working that day ; and when the gentlemen were done with the `` diseased '' he would take him . `` Ef thar is any present , '' he added , in his simple , serious way , `` as would care to jine in the fun ` l , they kin come . '' Perhaps it was from a sense of humor , which I have already intimated was a feature of Sandy Bar , -- perhaps it was from something even better than that ; but two-thirds of the loungers accepted the invitation at once . It was noon when the body of Tennessee was delivered into the hands of his partner . As the cart drew up to the fatal tree , we noticed that it contained a rough oblong box , -- apparently made from a section of sluicing , -- and half filled with bark and the tassels of pine . The cart was further decorated with slips of willow , and made fragrant with buckeye-blossoms . When the body was deposited in the box , Tennessee 's Partner drew over it a piece of tarred canvas , and gravely mounting the narrow seat in front , with his feet upon the shafts , urged the little donkey forward .