about four o'clock in the afternoon
We took the longer but easier route ; and , after a toilsome climb that occupied nearly half an hour , reached our goal . The women folk were too utterly exhausted to do other than stretch themselves out on the grass and feast their eyes upon the glories of the scene ; but , feeling that we might all now with safety venture upon another light meal , Julius and I set off in search of what we might find , and soon returned with three fine coconuts . These I stripped of their outer husk with my knife ; and a few minutes later we were all feasting upon the sweet , delicate fruit , after having shared the milk among us . Finally , through a careful and judicious system of feeding , by about four o'clock in the afternoon we had contrived to allay our hunger and thirst and to recover enough strength to enable us to move about and accomplish short distances without undue fatigue . My next concern was to find some sort of refuge in which to pass the coming night . Of course , in the last resort it would be quite possible for us to return to the boat and sleep on board her as usual ; but that idea had no charms for me . The under-deck quarters were very confined and altogether inadequate for the accommodation of the four women ; moreover , I imagined that they would be willing to put up with a certain amount of discomfort if by doing so they could secure a greater measure of privacy than the boat afforded .