about four o’clock in the morning
Neither moon nor stars pierced the gloom . Some gusts of wind whistled by the sides of the `` pah , '' and the posts of the house creaked : the fire outside revived with the puffs of wind , and the flames sent fitful gleams into the interior of Ware-Atoua . The group of prisoners was lit up for a moment ; they were absorbed in their last thoughts , and a deathlike silence reigned in the hut . It might have been about four o'clock in the morning when the Major 's attention was called to a slight noise which seemed to come from the foundation of the posts in the wall of the hut which abutted on the rock . McNabbs was at first indifferent , but finding the noise continue , he listened ; then his curiosity was aroused , and he put his ear to the ground ; it sounded as if someone was scraping or hollowing out the ground outside . As soon as he was sure of it , he crept over to Glenarvan and John Mangles , and startling them from their melancholy thoughts , led them to the end of the hut . `` Listen , '' said he , motioning them to stoop .