five o’clock in the morning
Supper was quickly devoured , for they were very hungry , and then there was only sleeping to think of . But , as roarings of rather a suspicious nature had been heard during the evening , a good fire was made up for the night , so as to protect the sleepers with its crackling flames . Neb and Pencroft also watched by turns , and did not spare fuel . They thought they saw the dark forms of some wild animals prowling round the camp among the bushes , but the night passed without incident , and the next day , the 31st of October , at five o'clock in the morning , all were on foot , ready for a start . It was six o ' clock in the morning when the settlers , after a hasty breakfast , set out to reach by the shortest way , the western coast of the island . And how long would it take to do this ? Cyrus Harding had said two hours , but of course that depended on the nature of the obstacles they might meet with .