midnight
The next night , which it seemed would never come , for the day , locked as the captives were in their room , seemed endless , finally closed in . Mark , Jack and the professor were anxious to know whether the mate would pay them another visit . As for Andy , Tom and Bill , while they were interested in the ship , and wanted to be free from the power of the mutineers , they did not lose any sleep over it . Shortly after midnight , there came again the peculiar knock , and the mate entered the room . He seemed much excited over something , and , as soon as the portal was securely closed he said to Professor Henderson : `` Is there an island any where near here where men could live for a time ? '' `` What do you mean ? '' asked the scientist .