ten o'clock at
night
But , as the girls breathlessly explained , if the Englishmen got away at once -- as they must for their own sakes -- no harm need be expected to befall their hostesses , as it would then appear that some enemy had been spreading a false and malicious report . The two young Englishmen hardly liked the idea of going off and leaving their kind entertainers to bear unaided the brunt of a strict and severe cross-examination ; but it was obviously the only thing to be done , for it would be far worse for the family if the hated _ Ingleses _ were actually found in the house , than if their recent presence there were only suspected ; they therefore agreed to go at once ; and , since they had no belongings to pack , were ready to depart upon the instant . But the girls , who were bitterly distressed at the idea of so sudden and unceremonious a leave-taking , would not let them leave the house alone , to take their chance of finding their way , unmolested , down to the harbour ; they insisted upon accompanying them and guiding them by the least-frequented ways ; and this they did , following a number of narrow , winding , deserted lanes and alleys which at length brought them out upon the wharf where they had landed on the ill-fated day when they had attempted the rescue of Captain Marshall . Here , after a long , lingering , and tearful parting on the part of the girls , the two young men eventually found themselves alone , about half-past ten o'clock at night ; by which hour the wharf was deserted , save for themselves . Now , the whole thing had been so hurried , and the girls had had so much to say during the journey from the house to the wharf , that the two friends had been quite unable to form anything in the nature of a plan ; and even now it was not wise to linger on the wharf , discussing the question of what they should do , for the city guard , or watchmen , might come along at any moment and surprise them . They therefore hastily surveyed such boats and canoes as were moored to the wharf , chose the first useful-looking craft they came to , jumped into her , cut her painter , and pushed off down the harbour on their way to the island of Tierra Bomba , which Dick decided had better be their first halting-place . The night was , fortunately , fine , with a high and spacious sky of indigo , star-studded , flecked with a few thin , fleecy clouds driving up solemnly out of the eastward , and the moon , in her second quarter , sailing high overhead and affording them all the light that they needed , with perhaps a little to spare .