about nine o'clock
Mind ye that , I forgie ye ! ' And without a word more he turned and walked out of the house , leaving the master in speechless indignation . After dinner he determined to pay another visit to the quicksand -- he would not allow even to himself that he was afraid to go . And so , about nine o'clock , in full array , he marched to the beach , and passing over the sands sat on the skirt of the nearer rock . The full moon was behind him and its light lit up the bay so that its fringe of foam , the dark outline of the headland , and the stakes of the salmon-nets were all emphasised . In the brilliant yellow glow the lights in the windows of Port Crooken and in those of the distant castle of the laird trembled like stars through the sky . For a long time he sat and drank in the beauty of the scene , and his soul seemed to feel a peace that it had not known for many days .