midnight
Taking the oars which they found in the boat , they pulled away from the wharf without interruption from any source . Christy took his bearings as well as he could , and they passed out into the fog and darkness , to which experience within a few days had accustomed them both . They crossed the Alabama River , and then followed the land to the southward . Striking across an inlet they reached the land again , and by midnight they reached a point of land where Christy felt entirely at home . He recognized it by the dilapidated wharf , from which he had embarked in the Leopard . It was still a long pull to Glenfield , and they went ashore to partake of a little refreshment . Flint was a smoker , and he had some dry matches which enabled them to make a fire , more for its light than its heat .