noon
Nevertheless he was a little startled . The day had been a trying one for him . He went to the door , his wife and the children following him close behind . He threw it wide open , and there , supported by two of his companions , one of them the young man Mr. Hardy had seen in the hotel lobby at noon , was his son George , too drunk to stand alone ! He leered into the face of his father and mother with a drunken look that froze their souls with despair , as the blaze of the hall lamp fell upon him reeling there . So the first of Robert Hardy 's seven days came to an end . Mr. Hardy was a man of great will power , but this scene with his drunken son crushed him for a moment , and seemed to take the very soul out of him .