midnight
It moved after a moment or two . Gascoyne knew that there were no wild animals of any kind on the island , and , therefore , at once jumped to the conclusion that this must needs be a human being of some sort . Drawing his knife he put it between his teeth , and creeping noiselessly towards the object in question laid his strong hand on the neck of the horrified Will Corrie . That adventurous and desperate little hero having lain sleepless and miserable at the feet of Alice until the squall blew the tent over their heads , got up and assisted Montague to erect it anew in a more sheltered position , after which , saying that he meant to take a midnight ramble on the shore to cool his fevered brow , he made straight for the sea , stepped knee-deep into the raging surf , and bared his breast to the furious blast . This cooled him so effectually that he took to running along shore in order to warm himself . Then it occurred to him that the night was particularly favourable for a sly peep at the pirates . Without a moment 's hesitation he walked and stumbled towards the high part of the island , at which he arrived just half-an-hour before Gascoyne reached it .