midnight
`` Amen , '' said Hubert fervently . Mr. Bond led Hubert on with keen interest to tell of the process of his search after God , and of the illumination brighter than the light of day , that came to him when the Spirit shone with such clear luster on the Word . To Hubert it seemed the happiest hour of his life , as he conversed with a man who seemed to understand the processes of his own heart , and to be thoroughly at home in the new world into which he himself had entered . The drive was all too brief , but later in the evening , when good-night had been spoken to the rest of the household , the two men sat in the unlighted veranda and talked until midnight of Christ and the matters of His realm . The _ tout ensemble _ of the company gathered to hear Mr. Bond 's first lecture was somewhat curious . It was not a large congregation , but it was representative , being drawn from the interested or curious of nearly every kind of church or religious coterie in the city . Keen Bible students were there , notebooks in hand , prepared to capture any new suggestion which might help them .