midnight
We had been out of Sydney about four weeks , and although I did not know the exact latitude and longitude , I imagined we must have been a considerable distance to the south and east of Cape Colony . It seems to me now that I heard somebody say we were a little further south of the regular course taken by vessels sailing around the Cape . It was one of those pleasant nights in December , which one must experience in southern waters to appreciate , that I took my turn on watch in the forward part of the boat . It was past midnight and one of the darkest nights I have ever known . The sea was rather calm but a good breeze astern caused the ship to make good headway . I was all alone and paced back and forth from side to side peering out into space and darkness ahead . Occasionally , I would remain for several minutes leaning against one of the railings .