the hour of four
And so it proved ; for , although George evidently risked considerable , and shoved on every horsepower his engine was rated at , he could not quite overtake the big clumsy craft he had affected to despise ; so that the _ Comfort _ was alongside before the speed boat was more than within hailing distance . Jack himself timed the coming of each craft , as was the duty of the one first at a station . Thus he knew just what a handicap the other boats labored under as the result of the initial run . It was already late in the day , and as they were prohibited from running after the hour of four , a start was out of the question until another morning . Accordingly the three craft made preparations for stopping over another night . A place was found where they could go ashore and camp , though meaning to sleep aboard their several boats ; a necessity that caused poor Nick many a groan . `` Why , fellows , '' he grunted , rubbing himself in various places , `` I 'm just covered with bruises after one night of it .