midnight
Stephen 's chief anxiety was for the old pilot ; the horses would very likely be taken from him , and he might too probably be carried off as a prisoner for having enabled rebels to escape . Though they had not witnessed the cruelties practised by Colonel Kirk and his lambs , Simon had told him of what he had heard , and of the hundreds who had been hung up on the Bussex oak directly after the action . They were justly afraid that Mr Headland might be treated in the same cruel manner ; and `` if we had gone back we could have done no good , '' Stephen said to himself over and over again . For some hours the weather continued fine , and the boat made fair progress , but towards midnight a dark bank of clouds rose to the eastward , threatening a gale . `` What do you think of it , Joe ? '' asked Stephen . `` We shall catch it , but the boat will float like a cork ; we will shorten sail in good time , though we shall not make much of our way towards Holland till it is over , I have a notion . ''