eleven o'clock
Sir Reginald strenuously disavowed any such anxiety , asserting that , on the contrary , he was quite willing to remain where he was for any reasonable length of time , and to take turn and turn about on alternate nights to watch at the drinking-place until they had succeeded in securing a specimen of so interesting and rare an animal . Then he inquired in what manner the occupants of the _ Flying Fish _ had passed the day . `` Well , '' answered Mildmay , speaking for himself and the ladies , `` it was not until breakfast-time that we began to feel in the least degree anxious about you ; and , even then , our anxiety -- or rather , mine -- was not very acute , for , as I explained to the ladies , you might have had exceptionally good sport , and be anxious to save the skins before leaving to return to the ship . But when eleven o'clock arrived with no news of you , I felt convinced that something had gone wrong , and then we all felt ourselves to be in a dilemma . For there were only two courses open to us : first , to stay where we were and await your return ; or , secondly , to go in search of you . By adopting the first alternative , we should be on the spot where you would naturally expect to find us if your detention should happen to be merely of an ordinary nature ; or if , having happened to encounter a body of hostile savages , you should be holding them at bay while retiring upon the ship . And I may tell you that it was the recognition of some such possibility as this which made me feel very reluctant to leave the spot where we were .