nine o’clock in the evening
Mulrady , who stood to execute this order , let go the anchor in five fathoms water . The raft backed about two fathoms on the line , which was then at full stretch . The sail was taken in , and everything made snug for a tedious period of inaction . The returning tide would not occur till nine o'clock in the evening ; and as John Mangles did not care to go on in the dark , the anchorage was for the night , or at least till five o'clock in the morning , land being in sight at a distance of less than three miles . A considerable swell raised the waves , and seemed to set in continuously toward the coast , and perceiving this , Glenarvan asked John why he did not take advantage of this swell to get nearer to the land . `` Your Lordship is deceived by an optical illusion , '' said the young captain . `` Although the swell seems to carry the waves landward , it does not really move at all .