midnight
Likely as not she was an English ship out of the Barbadoes , bound for the Carolinas . He must be somewhere near just such a course . Or , maybe she was a colonial schooner , one of those bold craft from Boston . There was a certain luxury in speculating on it , and in prolonging a doubt which would certainly be solved by midnight , and to his satisfaction . It was not often that in real life one looked at a play bound to develop within a given time to a dramatic and satisfying finish . He remained on the crest until late in the afternoon , watching the ship as she tacked with the varying winds , but , in the end , always bearing toward the island . He was quite sure now that her arrival would be after dark .