midnight
God be with you , my friend . '' The man gave a queer laugh . He evidently thought that the abbé expected too much . The abbé walked until midnight , and then being tired he found a quiet spot between two great rocks , and lying down slept there until morning . In the leather saddle-bag which formed his pillow he had bread and some meat , which he ate as he walked on towards the Lancone Defile . Once , soon after daylight , he paused to listen , and the sound that had faintly reached him was repeated . It was the warning whistle of the steamer , the old _ Persévérance _ , entering Bastia harbour ten miles away .