He had plenty to think about.
Another twelve hours and he would be with friends! He had no reason to complain of the treatment he had received on board the privateer, but had he remained with her he might not have returned to France for a couple of years, and would then have had difficulty in crossing to England; beside, it was painful to him to be with men fighting against his country, and each prize taken instead of causing delight to him as to his comrades, would have been a source of pain.
But most of all he thought of his mother, of how she must have grieved for him as dead, and of the joy there would be at their reunion.

The hours therefore passed quickly, and he could scarcely believe it to be two o'clock when he suddenly saw the light of a fire far way toward the end of the island.

A glance at the stars showed him that the time was correct.

He rose to his feet, and taking the lantern held it aloft, then he lowered it behind a bush and twice raised it again.

He knew exactly the direction in which the harbor lay, and no sooner had he put down the lantern for the third time than three flashes of light followed in close succession.
He knew that everything would be prepared in the afternoon for the start.