about nine o'clock
They sat there by the fire a long while after eating . The night air had grown a bit cool , for it was October , when the early frosts nip . vegetation in the north ; and even this far south the coming of night brings a change from the warm day . And about nine o'clock Jack , feeling his eyes growing heavy , wondered whether it would not be wise for them to turn in . They had concluded , since everything seemed so safe , to try sleeping ashore for a change from the narrow quarters aboard the little motor boat ; and the blankets were already lying in a heap ; in fact , one served Jack as a means of keeping him from coming in contact with the bare ground as he sat there writing in his log book and figuring out the respective positions of the participants in the race , up to that time . `` I say , Jimmie , '' he began , when , looking around , he discovered that he was alone , the other having crept away at some time while Jack was busily employed . `` Now , where under the sun did that boy go to ? ''