midnight
They are all dead but me . I have been here forty years -- nine of them passed alone ; and now my time has almost come . I took the name of George Dunman because I had disgraced that of my parents , and because I am an outlaw , and I want to die here and be forgotten . '' It was after midnight when the old man finished his story . His manner became nervous and restless , and it was evident there was something more he wanted to disclose , but hesitated to do . The strangers accepted the old man 's invitation , and took up their abode under his roof , finding plenty of food and kind treatment . But they soon became weary of so monotonous a life , and longing for some means of reaching their homes and civilization , would visit the coast nearly every day , in the hope of seeing some friendly sail and effecting their deliverance .