noon
Yes , the period at length arrived when the great source of light and heat was about to withdraw his face from these Arctic navigators for a long , long time , and leave them in unvarying night . It was a good while , however , before he went away altogether , and for many weeks after winter set in in all its intensity , he paid them a daily visit which grew gradually shorter and shorter , until that sad evening in which he finally bade them farewell . About the middle of October the dark months overspread the Bay of Mercy , and the reign of perpetual night began . There was something terribly depressing at first in this uninterrupted gloom , and for some time after the sun ceased to show his disk above the horizon the men of the _ Dolphin _ used to come on deck at noon , and look out for the faint streak of light that indicated the presence of the life-giving luminary with all the earnestness and longing of Eastern fire-worshippers . The dogs , too , became sensibly affected by the continued absence of light , and seemed to draw more sympathetically than ever to their human companions in banishment . A curious and touching instance of this feeling was exhibited when the pack were sent to sleep on Store Island . A warm kennel had been erected for them there , partly in order that the ship might be kept more thoroughly clean , and partly that the dogs might act as a guard over the stores , in case bears or wolves should take a fancy to examine them .