about midday
I do not know . It is impossible to be sure as to the mysterious motives that actuate many of these remote African tribes . At any rate the result was that it gave us a great start and a chance of life , who must otherwise have died upon the spot . Outside the bay the breeze blew merrily , taking us across the lake at a spanking pace , until about midday when it began to fall . Fortunately , however , it did not altogether drop till three o'clock by which time the coast of Mazitu-land was comparatively near ; we could even distinguish a speck against the skyline which we knew was the Union Jack that Stephen had set upon the crest of a little hill . During those hours of peace we ate the food that remained to us , washed ourselves as thoroughly as we could and rested . Well was it , in view of what followed , that we had this time of repose .