About midnight
The prisoners were put into a smaller cave , close to the large one , that night . Their bonds were made more secure , and , as an additional precaution , their legs were tied . Two men were also appointed to guard the entrance of their prison . About midnight the camp was perfectly still , and the only sounds that broke the silence were the tinkling of a neighbouring rill and the footfall of the sentinels . Van Dyk and Considine were lying uneasily on the bare ground , and thinking of the tragic fate that awaited them on the morrow , when they observed the dim figure of a man approaching from the innermost end of the cavern with a drawn knife in his right hand . Both started up and leant on their elbows ; more than this they could not do . They felt some alarm , it is true , but both came to the same conclusion -- that it is foolish to cry out before you are hurt .