about half past eleven o’clock
Nell kept looking at the great trees , whose branches , waving in the wind , made them seem to her like giants gesticulating wildly . The sound of the breeze in the tree-tops , the deep silence during a lull , the distant line of the horizon , which could be discerned when the road passed over open levels -- all these things filled her with new sensations , and left lasting impressions on her mind . After some time she ceased to ask questions , and her companions respected her silence , not wishing to influence by any words of theirs the girl 's highly sensitive imagination , but preferring to allow ideas to arise spontaneously in her soul . At about half past eleven o'clock , they gained the banks of the river Forth . There a boat , chartered by James Starr , awaited them . In a few hours it would convey them all to Granton . Nell looked at the clear water which flowed up to her feet , as the waves broke gently on the beach , reflecting the starlight .