eight o'clock
Their hopes of a good , quiet night suffered no blight , for nothing happened to disturb their sleep , and morning found them eager to go on . They fully expected reaching Beaufort before long now , when the mysterious little packet could be delivered to the party to whom it was addressed , if they were fortunate enough to find him . Young Spence did not seem to be sure that this Van Arsdale Spence still lived near Beaufort , as he evidently once had done ; but still Jack had hopes of succeeding , since they seemed to carry such luck along with them . It was eight o'clock when they got started . As usual , George detained them , finding occasion to do some more little necessary tinkering with that miserable engine of his , that was forever getting out of order . Cove Sound lay shimmering in the sunlight as the three little boats left the friendly beach of Cedar Island , and once more cut a passage through the water , with their prows turned southward . It was a beautiful morning .