nine o'clock before
The meeting was closed at once with the Doxology and Benediction . The reporters crowded around him for fuller details . He refused to give any further information . They interviewed every officer of the church and congregation from whom any news might be secured , and it was nine o'clock before the excitement had subsided and the crowd left . The organist and quartet choir lingered to rehearse their music for the following Sunday . Gordon retired to his study , where he had asked Kate to meet him for an important conference . The church opened on the cross street and stretched its barn shape through the entire block .