midnight
He was alone in the great solitude , with no eye but the all-seeing One to watch over him . It was a curious fact connected with the boy 's wanderings that more than once he was within a stone 's throw of the pass for which he was so anxiously searching ; and yet he never suspected it , owing to his unfamiliarity with the territory . As is nearly always the case with an inexperienced hunter , he showed a continual tendency to travel in a circle , the nature of the ground only preventing him from doing so . Fred slept , without disturbance , until after midnight . An hour or so previous to his waking , when the moon was in the best position to lighten up the earth below , the figure of a man appeared upon an eminence , a hundred yards or more away , and stood motionless for several minutes , as though he were engaged in reverie . Could one have looked more closely , he would have seen that the stranger 's action and manner showed that he was hunting for something . He turned slowly around several times , scanning the ravines , gorges , peaks , and declivities as best he could ; but he did not expect to gain much , without the daylight to assist him , and the result of the attempt was anything but satisfactory .