the hour of seven a.m.
They therefore settled themselves comfortably , and , with the aid of their pipes and chat , beguiled the time as best they could . The moon had set some hours before this , and the forest was consequently plunged in darkness so profound that it was impossible to see anything beyond their immediate surroundings , which were illuminated for the space of some four or five yards by the flickering light of their torches . The silence also was profound , for the buzzing _ chirr _ of the insect-life of the place had long since ceased , and only the occasional crackle of dry leaves or twigs betrayed the fact that the great solitude held other denizens than themselves . At length , however , when their watches marked the hour of seven a.m. they became aware of a dim , ghostly light filtering down upon them from above and stealthily revealing the presence of tree-trunk , twisted creepers , and tangled underscrub at gradually widening distances from them . Whereupon they charged and lighted their pipes afresh , extinguished their torches , and , after allowing themselves a few minutes longer to enable their eyes to become accustomed to the dim , sombre twilight that alone pervaded those illimitable forest aisles , set out upon a course which they agreed would ultimately lead them back to the river . Their course was anything but a straight one , for they were obliged to wind hither and thither between and around enormous masses of tangled , impenetrable undergrowth ; and there were many occasions when they were compelled to go some little distance in a direction the very opposite of that which they wished to follow , ere they could again hit off a practicable path leading northward . Yet notwithstanding this , they began to feel some disappointment and recurrence of anxiety when , at eleven o'clock in the forenoon , they still seemed as far off as ever from finding the river .