eight o’clock
The camp was soon organized . In less than an hour , on the edge of the forest , among the trees , a hut of branches interlaced with creepers , and pasted over with clay , offered a tolerable shelter . Their geological researches were put off till the next day . Supper was prepared , a good fire blazed before the hut , the roast turned , and at eight o'clock , while one of the settlers watched to keep up the fire , in case any wild beasts should prowl in the neighborhood , the others slept soundly . The next day , the 21st of April , Cyrus Harding accompanied by Herbert , went to look for the soil of ancient formation , on which he had already discovered a specimen of ore . They found the vein above ground , near the source of the creek , at the foot of one of the northeastern spurs . This ore , very rich in iron , enclosed in its fusible veinstone , was perfectly suited to the mode of reduction which the engineer intended to employ ; that is , the Catalan method , but simplified , as it is used in Corsica .