midnight
Manley tried to scull with the oar , but he was not an adept at the art , and it did not help us much . When we watched the shore we had left , we saw that we had made some progress ; but when we looked ahead towards the side of the lake we wished to reach , it appeared no nearer than when we stood on the shore we had left , while the mountains rose towering up above our heads as gigantic as ever . The sun had already disappeared beyond the pine-clad heights to the west , leaving the valley in rapidly increasing shade . `` I doubt , Ralph , whether we shall set foot on shore much before midnight , unless we move at a faster rate than we are now doing , '' said Manley . I agreed with him ; observing , however , that a moonlight voyage on that calm lake would be pleasant in the extreme , and a thing to be remembered . Not expecting to be so long on the raft , and intending to have supper on our arrival , we grew very hungry . Fortunately we had plenty of cooked provisions , and fresh water alongside , so that we had no difficulty in satisfying our appetites .