one o'clock
Jack Dudley had only to remain extended on the ground where he was , with his Winchester ready , and keep an eye on the little herd , which could not observe him unless he was unusually careless . He could easily judge of Fred 's success or failure by watching the animals , and it would seem that success was almost certain for one of the young hunters . The only thing to be feared was that Fred would betray himself before reaching the other side of the game that was so tempting to both . The comrades looked at their watches at the moment of separating , and found it was precisely one o'clock . Fred gave himself an hour to reach a point from which to start on his return , though it was possible that double that time would be required . Before the interval had expired Jack had his glass to his eyes , and was studying the valley below . As the antelope cropped the rich grass they occasionally took a step in the direction of the watcher ; but the largest one , evidently the leader , changed his course so as to work back toward the little grove of trees , the others following .