midnight
But the boards shivered beneath me , and , before I could realise what was happening , I found myself hurtling through the air to the floor of the cavern below . And now , as the reader will readily understand , I must continue the story as it was afterwards related to me . Myra , the General , and Dennis sat up and waited for me till the early hours of the morning , but I did not return . The young people did what they could to assure the old man that my sudden and unexpected disappearance had been entirely voluntary , and Dennis , who had found my note , as soon as he put on his cap to stroll out casually , and see where I had got to , gave him subtly to understand that it was really part of a prearranged plan , and Myra at length persuaded him to go to bed at midnight . When I failed to put in an appearance at breakfast-time , however , even they began to be a trifle alarmed , but they did their best to conceal their fears . They scoured the hillside and then went down to the landing-stage . Dennis had reported the previous night that the motor-boat was still in its place when he saw Hilderman off , and it never occurred to Myra that I might make my departure in the _ Coch-a-Bondhu _ .