midday
The place was by no means an ideal one for fugitives to pass the night in , for there was nothing even remotely resembling a hiding-place that they could see ; and concealment was just then what they wanted more than anything else . True , there was an enormous ceiba tree growing upon the very edge of the clearing , among the upper branches of which they might possibly be able to conceal themselves ; and in the absence of anything more suitable they at length determined to avail themselves of that , braving the perils of possible jaguars , scorpions , snakes , ants , and other undesirable bedfellows . Accordingly , the two friends ascended to the lower branches of the tree by climbing the lianas , hand over hand , which depended conveniently from the boughs , and , working their way aloft as well as they could in the thick darkness created by the luxuriant foliage , at length established themselves quite safely and comfortably in the fork formed by the junction of two enormous branches with the parent stem . They had no food with them , and were possessed of a healthy hunger , for they had eaten nothing since midday ; but they were also exceedingly tired ; and it was not long before they forgot their hunger in profound sleep . Probably they would not have slept so soundly had they known that they had unwittingly entered a trap . But they had ; for the Indians whom they had encountered shortly before knew that part of the river perfectly , and were fully aware that the difficulties of navigation were such that the fugitives could not possibly proceed very far in the darkness , and they also knew that the spot where Dick and Phil had landed was the only one within many miles where an upstream landing was possible . They therefore conjectured shrewdly that , since the white men would arrive at this spot just about nightfall , they would be certain to land there , and they took their measures accordingly .