nearly midnight
He gazed at her for a moment , saw that his time had not yet come , and then gently patted her cheek , so gently that she did not resent the caress . All that day they watched the curving trenches from a little angle of the tower from which a rifle could be brought to bear on the shell causeway . That afternoon seemed everlasting . It was a clear , still twilight , and they did not dine till nearly midnight . If the _ Good Intent _ were to send a boat it would be to the back of the island which the tide never left . Indeed , Leg-o ' - Mutton Bay was the only spot where a boat could land . There was always deep water there .