four o’clock in the morning
But Ferguson checked him with a firm grasp , and , dashing at the anchor-rope , severed it with one well-directed blow of his hatchet . Meanwhile , the flames , leaping up at the balloon , already quivered on its illuminated sides ; but the Victoria , released from her fastenings , spun upward a thousand feet into the air . Frightful yells resounded through the forest , along with the report of fire-arms , while the balloon , caught in a current of air that rose with the dawn of day , was borne to the westward . It was now four o'clock in the morning . The Talabas . -- The Pursuit . -- A Devastated Country .