about
nine o'clock
The probability was that Butler , upon reaching this point , and finding himself confronted by the necessity to make a wide detour , or , alternatively , to consider the question of a tunnel , had struck off , either to the right or to the left , on a tour of investigation ; and there was the chance that , becoming involved in the maze-like intricacies of his surroundings , he had decided to camp out for the night rather than risk an accident by attempting to return in darkness over difficult ground . But this was a question which Harry felt ought to be settled forthwith , and he accordingly issued instructions to his peons to search for the spoor of the party and follow it up . To find the spoor was a very easy matter , for the last stake had been driven in comparatively soft ground , and despite the fact that it was by this time almost pitch dark , a short search , aided by the light of the lanterns , disclosed the hoof prints of Butlers horse , which led off to the left , and which were followed until the searchers found themselves on the borders of an extensive pine wood growing on hard , steeply rising ground over which it was impossible to trace further the trail in the darkness . This impossibility once realised , the search was abandoned for the night , and Harry very reluctantly gave the word for a return to camp , which was reached about nine o'clock . At daybreak the next morning the camp was roused , breakfast prepared and eaten , and , taking with them rations to last until nightfall , the search party again set out upon their quest , making their way direct to the spot where the trail had been lost on the previous night , where it was again picked up without much trouble . It led in straight toward the heart of the wood , and was followed , with ever-increasing difficulty , for a distance of about three-quarters of a mile until it was lost on hard , shaley ground , nor were the utmost efforts of the party equal to finding it again . After carefully considering the situation , therefore , Escombe detailed one man , an Indian , to accompany him , and , placing the remainder of the peons in charge of a man whom he believed he could trust , with instructions to search the wood thoroughly , returned to the outskirts of the timber , and , beginning at the spot where the trail entered it , proceeded , with the assistance of the Indian , to encircle the wood , carefully examining every foot of the ground as they went , in the hope that , if Butler and his party had passed through the timber and emerged on its other side , the Indian would succeed in picking up the spoor .