a
quarter after nine
Father thought of Wecanicut and went to the ferry to ask , but Captain Lewis was n't there , and of course the cross new captain that we 'd seen looking at the book had n't even noticed us and would n't have known us if he had . Our nice Portuguese man remembered our going over and was perfectly certain that he 'd seen us come back , too , which of course he had n't . So , after setting the policeman and every one else to search town , Father and Captain Moss went to Wecanicut on the chance . They reached the point at a quarter after nine , which was when we saw the lights , and they never for a moment thought of the Sea Monster , because no one had missed the old dinghy from the ferry-slip and they did n't imagine that we could get there . They did n't find any trace of us at the usual picnic place on Wecanicut , because we had everything with us , and though some of the Fort soldiers searched , too , nothing could be found . Father had been up all night and was still out , telephoning to all sorts of places . If I deserved any punishment for its being my fault , I think I had it when I thought of how hard Father had been working and how wretched and anxious they all were .