midnight
`` We have seen naught of him , or indeed of anybody else , since you left us this morning . '' `` Then , '' said Dick , `` I greatly fear that evil has befallen him and that he has been discovered and taken by the Spaniards . For this is the last day of our stay here ; and his orders to me were that if he returns not by midnight we are to proceed to sea and rejoin the ship ; for his failure to return will be due to the fact of his having been captured . Still , there are six hours to run yet before midnight , and he may return even at the very last moment . Let us hope that he will . And now , men , give me some supper , for I have eaten nothing since I left you this morning . '' The time between then and midnight was passed by Dick in a state of feverish suspense , that toward the end became almost unendurable , causing him to start and jump at every trivial sound that reached his ear .