six o'clock in the
morning
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett walked one on each side of the cart , ready to answer to any attack . However , it was not probable that the convicts would have yet left the plateau of Prospect Heights . Neb 's note had evidently been written and sent as soon as the convicts had shown themselves there . Now , this note was dated six o'clock in the morning , and the active orang , accustomed to come frequently to the corral , had taken scarcely three quarters of an hour to cross the five miles which separated it from Granite House . They would , therefore , be safe at that time , and if there was any occasion for firing , it would probably not be until they were in the neighbourhood of Granite House . However , the colonists kept a strict watch . Top and Jup , the latter armed with his club , sometimes in front , sometimes beating the wood at the sides of the road , signalised no danger .