three in the afternoon
So six were given to us , and Komba , who now I noted was beginning to speak in a somewhat imperious tone , instructed us in their use . At first we made but a poor hand at the business , but three or four hours ' steady practice taught us a good deal . Indeed , before our journey 's end , I felt that we should be quite capable of managing a canoe , if ever it became necessary for us to do so . By three in the afternoon the shores of the island we were approaching -- if it really was an island , a point that I never cleared up -- were well in sight , the mountain top that stood some miles inland having been visible for hours . In fact , through my glasses , I had been able to make out its configuration almost from the beginning of the voyage . About five we entered the mouth of a deep bay fringed on either side with forests , in which were cultivated clearings with small villages of the ordinary African stamp . I observed from the smaller size of the trees adjacent to these clearings , that much more land had once been under cultivation here , probably within the last century , and asked Komba why this was so .