midnight
`` But there is no moon , captain . '' `` No , but we can tell pretty well , by the depth of water , where we are ; and can manage to keep in the middle of the current . There are no obstructions there to affect us , though in some places there are plenty of ugly rocks near the shore . However , if we have luck we shall be through before midnight , and shall pass all the worst points before sunset . '' The day passed , indeed , without adventure of any kind . The journey was highly interesting to Fergus , for the scenery was very picturesque . Sometimes the hills narrowed in , and the stream , straitened in its course , hastened its speed ; at others the hills receded , and were covered far up with forests ; above which bleak mountain tops , with their mantle of snow , rose high in the air .