about three
in the morning
So it came about that they made a plot to seize us all and hale us off to be sacrificed to a substituted image of Oro , which by now they had set up . They knew exactly where we slept upon the rock ; indeed , our fire showed it to them and so far they were not afraid to venture , since here they had been accustomed for generations to lay their offerings to the god of the Mountain . Secretly on the previous night , without the knowledge of Marama , they had carried two more canoes to the borders of the lake . Now on this night , just as the moon was setting about three in the morning , they made their attack , twenty-one men in all , for the three canoes were large , relying on the following darkness to get us away and convey us to the place of sacrifice to be offered up at dawn and before Marama could interfere . The first we knew of the matter , for most foolishly we had neglected to keep a watch , was the unpleasant sensation of brawny savages kneeling on us and trussing us up with palm-fibre ropes . Also they thrust handfuls of dry grass into our mouths to prevent us from calling out , although as air came through the interstices of the grass , we did not suffocate . The thing was so well done that we never struck a blow in self-defence , and although we had our pistols at hand , much less could we fire a shot .