ten o'clock
The York boats had shortened their towline and were pulling at right angles within a few yards of a gravelly beach . A few strokes more , and men who were bare to the knees jumped out into shallow water and began tugging at the tow rope with their hands . David looked at his watch . It was ten o'clock . Never in his life had time passed so swiftly as that morning on the forward deck of the barge . And now they were tying up , after a drop of six or eight miles down the river , and he wondered how swiftly St. Pierre was overtaking them with his raft . He was filled with the desire to feel the soft crush of the earth under his feet again , and not waiting for the long plank that Bateese was already swinging from the scow to the shore , he made a leap that put him on the sandy beach , St. Pierre 's wife had given him this permission , and he looked to see what effect his act had on the half-breed .