nine a.m.
When the mist at length cleared away we discovered the hostile canoes still closely hemming us in ; but they now seemed to have tired of their fruitless efforts to take the battery by assault , and had apparently made up their minds to try the effect of a regular siege . This was bad enough ; for our provisions , though husbanded with the utmost care , were only sufficient to allow us a mere mouthful each for two meals during that day ; but to be spared the fatigue of constantly fighting was something to be grateful for ; and I felt certain that the relief expedition _ must _ appear before the lapse of many hours longer . We consequently sat down to our scanty morning meal not only with excellent appetites but also in very fair spirits , considering what we had lately been called upon to endure ; and , the meal over , I next devoted my attention to the wounded , of whom there were by this time several , and did what I could to make them and myself as comfortable as possible . About an hour after sunrise a little air from the eastward sprang up , and by nine a.m. it was blowing quite a free breeze , which , though it certainly refreshed us greatly , and was in pleasing contrast to the suffocating heat of the day before , I was rather sorry to see ; for I knew that , combined with the current , it would seriously retard the advance of our friends up the river . To tell the truth , I was getting to be a trifle anxious about this matter ; I could not at all understand why it was that we had been left to take care of ourselves so long . If the French boat had reached the creek in safety she would doubtless arrive about ten or eleven p.m. , or a few hours only after our establishment of ourselves upon the island . Forty hours or thereabouts had elapsed since then , yet there was no sign of help .