six o’clock in the morning
After having accompanied his friends to Creek Glycerine , he raised the bridge ; and waiting behind a tree he watched for the return of either his companions or Ayrton . In the event of the pirates presenting themselves and attempting to force the passage , he was to endeavor to stop them by firing on them , and as a last resource he was to take refuge in Granite House , where , the lift once raised , he would be in safety . Cyrus Harding , Gideon Spilett , Herbert , and Pencroft were to repair to the corral , and if they did not find Ayrton , search the neighboring woods . At six o'clock in the morning , the engineer and his three companions had passed Creek Glycerine , and Neb posted himself behind a small mound crowned by several dragon trees , on the left bank of the stream . The colonists , after leaving the plateau of Prospect Heights , immediately took the road to the corral . They shouldered their guns , ready to fire on the slightest hostile demonstration . The two rifles and the two guns had been loaded with ball .