midnight
`` But a bit since , sir ; or , for that matter , I think I see it now . Look hereaway , sir , just where the dead-eyes of the fore-rigging would bear from us , if the craft stood upon her legs , as she ought to do . If that is n't a boat , it 's a rock out of water . '' Mulford gazed through the gloom of midnight , and saw , or fancied he saw , an object that might really be the boat . It could not be very distant either ; and his mind was instantly made up as to the course he would pursue . Should it actually turn out to be that which he now so much hoped for , and its distance in the morning did not prove too great for human powers , he was resolved to swim for it at the hazard of his life . In the meantime , or until light should return , there remained nothing to do but to exercise as much patience as could be summoned , and to confide in God , soliciting his powerful succour by secret prayer .