five in the evening
Pencroft , his eyes fixed on the ground , still looked for his box . He even climbed up the left bank of the river from its mouth to the angle where the raft had been moored . He returned to the plateau , went over it in every direction , searched among the high grass on the border of the forest , all in vain . It was five in the evening when he and Herbert re-entered the cave . It is useless to say that the darkest corners of the passages were ransacked before they were obliged to give it up in despair . Towards six o'clock , when the sun was disappearing behind the high lands of the west , Herbert , who was walking up and down on the strand , signalized the return of Neb and Spilett . They were returning alone !