midnight
But there was no sign in the heavens of any approaching atmospheric disturbance -- unless , indeed , that faint , scarcely perceptible , hazy appearance up aloft had a sinister meaning ! When the sun had declined to within a few minutes of his setting , I shinned up the mast and took a good look round ; but there was nothing in sight . Waiting , therefore , until the sun had sunk below the horizon , -- which he did in the midst of a thin , smoky haze , through which the rayless luminary glowed like a ball of red-hot iron , -- I descended to the deck and forthwith set to work to prepare myself such a supper as the meagre resources of the felucca permitted ; after discussing which , as the stars were shining brilliantly overhead , and the little craft was steering herself , I again stretched myself out on deck to snatch another nap . I this time slept for several hours , for when I was at length awakened by the rustling of the sail it was close upon midnight . Starting to my feet , I first glanced aloft and then around me ; but there was nothing to be seen , the darkness being so profound that it needed but a very small stretch of the imagination to persuade me that it might absolutely be felt ! It was the thick , opaque darkness that I remembered having once experienced when , as a boy , I went exploring some Devonshire caverns and clumsily allowed my candle to fall and become extinguished in a pool of water . It seemed to press upon me , to become palpable to the touch , to so closely wrap me about that my very breathing became impeded .