the hour
of seven
Caius sat down , and felt almost convivial when he found that a parcel of bread and cheese and a huge bottle of cold tea were to be shared between them . Either the food was perfect of its kind or his appetite good sauce , for never had anything tasted sweeter than the meal . They all three squatted in the darkness round the contents of the ample parcel , and if they said little it was because they ate much . Caius found by the light of a match that his watch told it was the hour of seven ; they had been at hard travel for more than four hours , and had come to a bit of the beach which could not be traversed without more light . In another hour the moon would be up and the horse rested . When the meal was finished , each rested in his own way . O'Shea laid himself flat upon his back , with a blanket over his feet .