four o'clock in the afternoon
Crane and Margaret made their way to the darkened room which housed the instruments and seated themselves , watching intently and making no effort to conceal their emotion as first the persons beneath them , then the giant war-vessels , and finally the ruined city itself , were lost to view . Osnome slowly assumed the proportions of a large moon , grew smaller , and as it disappeared Crane began to take notes . For a few hours the seventeen suns of this strange solar system shone upon the flying space-car , after which they assumed the aspect of a widely-separated cluster of enormous stars , slowly growing smaller and smaller and shrinking closer and closer together . At four o'clock in the afternoon , Washington time , DuQuesne relieved Crane , who made his way to the engine room . `` It is time to change shifts , Dick . You have not had your sixteen hours , but everything will be regular from now on . You two had better get some rest . ''