midnight
The clouds could n't be very thick . Overhead , the great , glowing cloud of the Dragon Nebula shed its soft light . That 's what made it possible to work after sundown in the spring ; at that time of year , the Dragon Nebula was at its brightest during the early part of the evening . The tail of it did n't vanish beneath the horizon until well after midnight . In the autumn , it was n't visible at all , and the nights were dark except for the stars . Anketam pushed open the door of his home and noted with satisfaction that the warm smells of cooking filled the air , laving his nostrils and palate with fine promises . He stopped and frowned as he heard a man 's voice speaking in low tones in the kitchen .