ten o'clock
` No , ' said I. ` Then fly with me tonight ; we shall be in Mobile in two hours from this , and when the passengers are going on shore , you can take my arm , and you can escape unobserved . The trader who brought you to New Orleans exhibited to me a certificate of your good character , and one from the minister of the church to which you were attached in Virginia ; and upon the faith of these assurances , and the love I bear you , I promise before high heaven that I will marry you as soon as it can be done . ' This solemn promise , coupled with what had already transpired , gave me confidence in the man ; and rash as the act may seem , I determined in an instant to go with him . My mistress had been put under the charge of the captain ; and as it would be past ten o'clock when the steamer would land , she accepted an invitation of the captain to remain on board with several other ladies till morning . I dressed myself in my best clothes , and put a veil over my face , and was ready on the landing of the boat . Surrounded by a number of passengers , we descended the stage leading to the wharf , and were soon lost in the crowd that thronged the quay . As we went on shore we encountered several persons announcing the names of hotels , the starting of boats for the interior , and vessels bound for Europe .