nearly twelve o'clock
Then after making out by touch where the others were placed , and nearly falling over Shanter , who was squatting , enjoying the warmth which came from the hearthstone to his bare feet , the boy seated himself on a rough bench by his gun , and all was silent as well as dark . From time to time the captain came round -- in each case just after they had changed watches at the window loophole -- but neither Norman , his cousin , nor brother had anything to report , and he went away again , after telling them the last time that all was well , and that he thought their sister and cousin had gone off to sleep . Then there was the same oppressive darkness and silence once more , a heavy breathing by the still warm fireplace , suggesting that Shanter , well refreshed with damper , had gone to sleep , and the boys instinctively shrank from disturbing him for fear he should start into wakefulness , and lay about him with his nulla-nulla . It must have been nearly twelve o'clock , when Norman was wishing that the Dutch clock in the corner had not been stopped on account of its striking , for the silence was growing more and more painful , and he was wondering how it would be possible to keep up for hours longer . He felt no desire for sleep ; on the contrary , his nerves were strained to their greatest tension , and he could hear sounds outside as if they had been magnified -- the chirp of some grasshopper-like insect , or the impatient stamp of a horse in the enclosure , being quite startling . But there was nothing to report . He could easily find an explanation for every sound , even to the creaking noise which he felt sure was caused by one of the cows rubbing itself against the rough fence .