noon
It was a mild starlit night . The three friends took their separate ways presently , leaving the Plains road and crossing the fields by foot-paths toward their farms . The week went by , and the next Saturday morning brought fair weather . It was a busy morning on the farms -- like any other ; but long before noon the teams of horses and oxen were seen going home from work in the fields , and everybody got ready in haste for the great event of the afternoon . It was so seldom that any occasion roused public interest in Barlow that there was an unexpected response , and the green before the old white meeting-house was covered with country wagons and groups of people , whole families together , who had come on foot . The old soldiers were to meet in the church ; at half past one the procession was to start , and on its return the minister was to make an address in the old burying-ground . John Stover had been first lieutenant in the war , so he was made captain of the day .