midnight
`` That 's bad , '' muttered the hunter ; `` he looks quite exhausted . '' `` Perhaps he 's shamming . '' `` Let us hope so . In any case we may have to wait until past midnight , as I am afraid our hosts will not let me off . It would be better if we could get away early . '' Fortune favoured them , for as the Zanzibar boy approached with a message from the officers , there arose the sound of rifle-shots from the forest beyond . The people in the square shouted a reply , and presently a party of men , dressed in long white robes , appeared .