nearly midnight
This represented all his savings , amounting to two dollars and seventeen cents in dimes , nickles and pennies . `` It is n't a fortune , '' he thought , as he counted it up , `` but I did n't need any money the last trip , so perhaps I 'll get along somehow . I do n't like to tackle Dad for more , for he might ask questions and try to keep me at home . '' By the time he had finished his preparations and stowed all his electrical belongings in his various pockets , it was nearly midnight and the house was quiet . So Rob stole down stairs in his stocking feet and noiselessly opened the back door . It was a beautiful July night and , in addition to the light of the full moon , the sky was filled with the radiance of countless thousands of brilliant stars . After Rob had put on his shoes he unfolded the map , which was plainly visible by the starlight , and marked the direction he must take to cross the Atlantic and reach London , his first stopping place .