ten o'clock
` Yes , it is , ' the captain answered . ` I think that we can safely say that the Argentine Republic is the only country in the world where the only way to land at its chief city is in a cart . ' The captain 's boat was by this time lowered , and he at once started for shore with his papers . Soon after ten o'clock he returned , followed by a number of boats . He brought also a letter to Mr. Hardy from an old friend who had been settled for some years near Buenos Ayres , and whose advice had decided him to fix upon that country as the scene of his labours . It contained a warm welcome , and a hearty congratulation upon their safe arrival . This letter had been written two or three days previously , and had been left at the office of the steamship company .