the Friday noon
Near him , just touched by the firelight , were the crumbs of their supper and the stately old bottle which had given its bouquet to the room . Old Herbert , moving out of the shadow noiselessly and pleasantly , bowed them out , and as the vision faded one of the guests , at least , pictured the four friends on the sun porch readjusting themselves , after their fitful fever , to the gentle life of their home . The following Thursday night Tom called at the Whitmans ' to rehearse the lecture . Nancy 's cousin Bob had arranged to have two rooms reserved for them during the Friday noon hour at the Mills , and they had agreed that the best way to prepare for the ordeal was to study their notes and get their material in final shape and then have a dress rehearsal on Thursday night . `` After a while , '' Nancy had said , `` when we work into the harness , we probably wo n't need to have one , but I do n't think we can be too careful of this first lecture . '' This had been precisely Tom 's opinion also . Tom had never seen Henry so amiable .