noon
A moment 's consciousness -- a flickering light -- * * * * * I opened my eyes -- it was broad daylight , and for some moments I lay dreamily surveying the familiar objects in my room , unconscious of all that had happened to me during the previous night . Then , noticing that I was fully dressed , a sudden realization of it all came upon me , and , springing to my feet , I excitedly paced up and down my room , pinching my arms and legs to make sure that they were in normal condition . Satisfying myself upon this point , I then looked at the time , and , to my astonishment , found that it was noon . As Mars passed out of wave contact about one o'clock in the morning , I must have slept eleven hours after the return of my spirit to Earth . I had greatly feared that even if it were my good fortune ever to regain consciousness , it would be only to discover that I had lost the use of my limbs and was powerless to move . That the super-radium current would preserve my body in such a natural condition as even to induce sleep I would not have believed possible .