midnight
Every night when the town was asleep , he went to the manse to sit with his friend . At length one morning , three weeks after Jan 's disappearance , he saw the minister and the English lord enter Peter 's store together . His heart turned sick and heavy ; he felt that the hour of parting was near . Peter was to send some eggs and smoked geese on board the yacht , and the minister said meaningly to Snorro , `` Be sure thou puts them on board this afternoon , for the yacht sails southward on the midnight tide . '' Snorro understood the message . When the store was closed he made a bundle of Jan 's few clothes ; he had washed and mended them all . With them he put the only sovereign he possessed , and his own dearly-loved copy of the Gospels .