At half-past six o'clock on Sunday night Barnabas came out of his bedroom.

The Thayer house was only one story high, and there were no chambers.

A number of little bedrooms were clustered around the three square rooms--the north and south parlors, and the great kitchen.
Barnabas walked out of his bedroom straight into the kitchen where the other members of the family were.

They sat before the hearth fire in a semi-circle--Caleb Thayer, his wife Deborah, his son Ephraim, and his daughter Rebecca.

It was May, but it was quite cold; there had been talk of danger to the apple blossoms; there was a crisp coolness in the back of the great room in spite of the hearth fire.
Caleb Thayer held a great leather-bound Bible on his knees, and was reading aloud in a solemn voice.