midnight
And then he stopped , with his finger on his lip . `` Listen ! '' he said . From the depths of the forest there came faintly , very sweetly the sound of church-bells ringing -- a peal of bells ringing at midnight in the heart of West Africa . Walker was startled . The sound seemed fairy work , so faint , so sweet was it . `` It 's no fancy , Jim , '' said Hatteras , `` I hear them every night and at matins and at vespers .