midday
The gate was a quarter of a mile distant . Gervaise passed through with the usual Arabic salutation to the sentry , and with difficulty repressed a shout of exultation as he left Tripoli behind him . Following the coast road he walked till daylight ; then he left it and lay down among the sand hills for five or six hours . He calculated that no pursuit would be begun until midday . His absence was not likely to be noticed until the gangs began work in the morning , when an alarm would be given . The sentries at the gates on the previous evening would be questioned , and when it was found that no one answering to his description had passed out before these were closed , there would be a rigid search throughout the city and port . The vessels would all be examined , and the boatmen questioned as to whether any craft was missing .