I burned to be in motion that we might the sooner learn all which would give us fair grounds for hope. It seemed like a wilful waste of time to be crouching there behind the rocks when we might discover what would be of greatest importance, and yet did I have sufficient wit to hold my tongue, for one would have been crazed indeed had he ventured out in the broad day. I was not the only member of the party whose heart was being devoured with impatience. Even Seth Hartley appeared eager to be off; but we could do no more than remain in hiding until there was some reasonable show of being able to finish the journey without coming across the enemy. And so it was we lay there counting the seconds, wishing as earnestly for the coming of the night as ever a dungeon prisoner longed to see the sun, and yet, save in our imagination, the moments passed no more quickly, nor less swiftly, because of our desires. An hundred times after the night had come did I say to myself that we should make a move, and as often I realized that the time was not yet at hand. When, as nearly as we could judge, it was midnight, Abraham said with a long-drawn sigh of relief: “I reckon it’s as safe now for us to make the break as it ever will be. We must give ourselves time to go there and back before break of day, for mayhap no hiding place will be found nearabout where the ship lays, an’ we shall be glad to come here again to find cover.” There were no preparations needed for the remainder of the journey. We had partaken of our food often, as a means of making the time seem to pass more quickly, and if I could have quenched my thirst I should have been in good bodily condition for the tramp; but that was of small importance, and I put it from my mind as much as possible, even though the desire for water was great upon me. Off we set in the same order as on leaving Peter Snyder’s hut; but the way was not as clear before us. Owing to the heat and beauty of the night many were astir, and more than once, even while we were in the thickets or among the hills, was it necessary for us to crouch amid the foliage to avoid what might have been an unpleasant meeting. Because of such delays much more time was spent in making the journey than we had allowed, and if so be we failed to find a snug hiding place on the shore, the return to the quarry might be attended with considerable danger. The stars gave so much light that when we were finally come to where a view of the bay could be had, there was no trouble in making out all the objects in the vicinity nearly as well as at noonday, and Seth Hartley cried as we gazed out over the water from behind a screen of bushes: “There is the prison ship, an’ she’s none other than the Good Hope! Twenty-four hours ago I wouldn’t have believed that our luck could be so good! Now it’s in my mind that, if we can remain hidden securely, it will be only a question of time before Abel Grant knows we are on hand to do whatsoever we may!”