midnight
`` That certainly is strong proof that the tradition handed down to you , Dias , is correct . '' They employed the next day in again searching for some indication that might assist them , but in vain . Dias and José both asserted that the tiny rift in the rocky peak looked wider from the middle of the valley than at any other point , and even Harry and his brother admitted that it could scarcely be seen from the foot of the hills on either side , and therefore it was agreed that Dias , Harry , and José should take their places only some forty yards apart across the centre ; Maria and Bertie going farther , near the sides of the hills . When midnight approached they took their stations . Suddenly Harry , who was standing by the side of the rivulet , exclaimed , `` I see it ! '' It was more than a minute later before Dias saw it , while it was three or four minutes before José spoke , by which time Harry had crossed the streamlet and fixed his second rod some distance on the other side . Dias and José did the same .