about nine o'clock
And now , once more , good-bye . '' Ten minutes later the head overseer , going his rounds , on looking into Pedro 's cabin , found that individual apparently fast asleep on the floor , with his back against the wall , and such an utterly fagged , worn-out look pervading his entire personality that the man was almost betrayed into a momentary feeling of pity for `` the poor boy . '' His surprise was therefore proportionally great when , on the following morning , it became apparent that Pedro had succeeded , in spite of the dogs , in making good his escape from the estate . A slave-hunt was at once organised , and about nine o'clock , as George was hard at work in the fields , he saw the hunters -- some half a dozen in number , mounted , and accompanied each by a bloodhound -- pass down the main road through the estate and out on to the open ground beyond . Here the party divided , half going in one direction , and half in the other , to encircle the estate , and endeavour to pick up the trail . They were absent the whole day , but when they returned at about midnight , the unfortunate Pedro was with them , handcuffed , and secured by a rope round his neck to the saddle of one of the horsemen . It afterwards transpired that he had been perfectly successful , not only in evading the dogs during his actual escape from the estate , but also in `` hiding the scent '' from them ; and his capture was due to the unfortunate circumstance of his having been met by a friend of his master 's who , an hour afterwards , encountered the party in pursuit of him , and so put them upon his track .