about nine o’clock at night
While working , on the afternoon of the fourth day since his father 's departure , he noticed that the sky had become overcast and that the water in the bed of the stream was rapidly rising . He and Ike quit work earlier than usual , and they had great difficulty in making their way to the caves through the swollen torrent . They had hardly reached cover when a terrific storm came up and the cañon became as dark as night , while the roar of the waters and the crashing of the thunder were ceaseless and appalling . It was about nine o'clock at night , and the three occupants of the cave were sitting with awed faces before the fire , when , to their inexpressible surprise , Ulna , the young Ute , stood dripping before them . `` How did you reach here ? '' asked Sam , springing to his feet and grasping Ulna 's hand . `` I rode till I killed my horse , then I ran for hours .