noon
From all these novelties and curiosities the Pilgrims selected a few of the prettier specimens to carry to their comrades on board , formally promising each other , as they had in case of the corn , to make due payment to the owners whenever they should be found , a promise most conscientiously performed at a later day . By the time these matters were fully examined night was falling , and the Pilgrims , strong in their own good intentions and also in their weapons , encamped a short distance from the Indian village , and although keeping diligent guard all night saw nor heard naught to disturb their slumbers . Rousing betimes next morning , their first attention was given to prayers , and their next to making as good a breakfast as possible with the aid of some wild fowl and little birds shot during the previous day 's march , and then the `` meat and mass '' which `` hinder no man '' thus attended to , they set forth in the direction of the river where they were to be picked up by the shallop . Toward noon this point was nearly reached , in fact the clearing with the European cabin was close at hand , when Billington paused beside a mound carefully laid up with a border of beach stones and rounded high and smooth with sods , over which were laid hewn planks such as composed the cabin . `` It is another store of corn of choicer variety , '' declared he greedily ; but Hopkins shook his head . `` It is the grave of some great sachem , or haply from these planks above him it is the grave of whoever built yon cabin and palisado . '' `` Belike there is treasure of some wrecked vessel which brought him hither , and which he stored away thus , until his rescue , '' said Rigdale .