noon
After looking eagerly around and seeing only those whom I had previously met , I inquired , with as little apparent concern as possible : `` Has n't Avis appeared ? I thought she was an early riser . '' To which Fronda quickly replied : `` Oh , Avis was up half an hour ago , and asked me to excuse her to the company , saying she was going to spend the morning with a friend she met yesterday . '' This was a hard blow for me , and it was with difficulty that I restrained my impatience , but I was a little consoled with the idea that the morning only was to be consumed by this visit , and that we might look for a return by noon . After breakfast , when Proctor had gone to the observatory and Fronda and her daughters were showing Zenith about the house , the doctor begged Thorwald to resume the talk begun on board the ship , which had been interrupted by the discovery of land . As Thorwald expressed a willingness to comply , the doctor continued : `` You were trying to convince me of the probability of life in other worlds besides the earth and Mars , and in your attempt to show a likeness between the earth and other parts of the universe , you were speaking on the interesting subject of meteorites . '' `` I remember , '' answered Thorwald , `` I was just asking you what theory you of the earth hold on that important topic . ''