about
midnight
Ryan , poor fellow , was , contrary to expectation , still alive , and hopes were now entertained that he might ultimately recover ; but he was still so weak that when I went to the hospital to see him , he was so overcome with emotion at the sight of me -- although he had been carefully prepared for the meeting -- that he burst into tears and was seized with a fit of hysterical sobbing so violent that I had to retire again at once without exchanging a word with him ; and , to my very deep regret , I had not another opportunity to see him . I grieve to say that although , when I paid him that unfortunate visit , he appeared to be making slow but sure progress toward recovery , he suffered a relapse a few days afterwards , from which he never rallied ; and his ashes now repose , with those of many another gallant spirit , in the spot that is known throughout the world as `` The White Man 's Grave . '' The repairs to the _ Felicidad _ being completed , her final preparations for sea were vigorously pushed forward , and on the third day after our arrival , having first visited the _ Bangalore _ and bade farewell to her passengers -- each and every one of whom insisted that he -LRB- or she -RRB- owed his -LRB- or her -RRB- life to me , and that henceforward I must regard myself as a dearly cherished friend -- I joined the little hooker as her commander , and sailed the same afternoon for the Congo ; my especial mission being to test the truth , or otherwise , of Mendouca 's statement respecting the fate of the _ Sapphire 's _ boats ' crews , and -- in the event of its being true -- to attempt the rescue of any of the unfortunate people who might perchance be still alive . We made the high land to the northward of the river mouth about midnight , after a rather long and uneventful passage ; and , the wind being light , and the river current strong , even at a considerable distance from the entrance , we then reached in toward the land , and anchored in fourteen fathoms , at about as many miles from the shore , where we remained , rolling and tumbling about on the heavy swell , until the sea-breeze set in , about eight o'clock the next morning . We then hove up our mud-hook , and ran in , anchoring in Banana Creek , opposite Lobo 's factory , about six bells in the forenoon . There was only one other vessel in the creek at the time , a Portuguese brig ; and her build and general appearance so unmistakably proclaimed her honest , that I never gave her a second thought . Besides , I had a special mission to accomplish -- namely , the discovery and deliverance , if possible , of between thirty and forty of my own countrymen , languishing in a bitter captivity , and in daily , if not hourly , peril of death by torture as cruel and protracted as the fiendish malignity of merciless savages can possibly devise .