midnight
The two prizes had been knocked about still more badly ; in fact the whole squadron was in a very unfit state to encounter even a strong gale , and the coming storm threatened something very much worse than this . But everything was battened down and made as snug as possible , and all that Cavendish could now do was to trust in Providence and hope his ships would survive the tempest , since nothing had been left undone that mortal hands could possibly do . A dull moaning sound at length began to make itself heard , and several hot sulphurous gusts of wind came down out of the north ; the blocks overhead creaked , the cordage rattled , and in the heavy silence weird noises made themselves perceptible . Roger and Harry were standing on the poop , exchanging comments on the weather , and Cavendish and his chief officer , Richard Leigh , were in close conversation on the main-deck just below them , glancing anxiously from time to time toward the northward , where the sky had become black almost as midnight . `` Look there , Harry , '' observed Roger , pointing to the main-topgallant yard ; and , looking up , Harry perceived two lambent globes of greenish fire . As he continued looking and wondering what they might be , other weird lights made their appearance on the yard-arms and on the very tops of the masts , presenting a beautiful , but at the same time a very eerie , spectacle . The same phenomenon was to be seen on the spars of every vessel in sight ; and as it was by this time very nearly dark -LRB- there being scarcely any twilight in these latitudes -RRB- , the whole squadron had the appearance of being illuminated .