eight o'clock
I should have thought the Sound would be alive with birds and fish . What can the matter be ? '' She had no hypothesis , and though they talked it over , they reached no conclusion . By eight o'clock she fell asleep in her warm nest , and Stern steered on alone , by the stars , under promise to put into harbor where New Haven once had stood , and there himself get some much-needed sleep . Swiftly the yawl split the waters of the Sound , for though her sail was crude , her body was as fine and speedy as his long experience with boats could make it . Something of the vast mystery of night and sea penetrated his soul as he held the boat on her way . The night was moonless ; only the great untroubled stars wondered down at this daring venture into the unknown .