about three o'clock in the afternoon
They had proceeded about two miles along its edge , when they saw the stern of a boat projecting beyond the rushes that fringed the water 's edge , and pushing more rapidly forward they came upon a beaten path through the reeds , and following this came upon a low flat boat , very roughly constructed . `` It is not much of a craft , '' Jim Tucker said ; `` but it will do for us capitally . Now , we have only to lie down and take things quietly until dark . I fancy it is about three o'clock in the afternoon now by the sun . '' They lay down among a clump of bushes a short distance from the lake , and as soon as the sun had set went back to the boat again . They had already made another meal , and had finished their maize and water . They stood by the boat waiting until it should become perfectly dark , and looking across the tranquil sheet of water at the distant town , over which the smoke still hung heavily , and as the sky darkened flashes of fire could be seen .