ten o'clock
Even Jaime Guevara , the lieutenant governor , did not know . The agreement was that the scientific group would seem to be interested only in the hot springs . The purpose of their visit , the governor had announced to the local press and radio , was to investigate the change in the springs that had ruined a principal San Luz resort hotel . By ten o'clock , when the reception ended , the boys were exhausted . But the end was not yet . They were riding in Zircon 's jeep -- five jeeps had been assigned to the party by the governor -- and Zircon had to meet the last member of the party , Bradley Connel , a geologist borrowed from an oil company in Caracas , Venezuela , by Dr. Balgos . It was nearly midnight before the boys got to sleep , after nearly three days with minimum rest .