twelve o’clock
On the contrary , the engineer inclined it towards the south , that is to say , in the direction of the coast opposite to the sun , for it must not be forgotten that the settlers in Lincoln Island , as the island was situated in the Southern Hemisphere , saw the radiant planet describe its diurnal arc above the northern , and not above the southern horizon . Herbert now understood how the engineer was going to proceed to ascertain the culmination of the sun , that is to say its passing the meridian of the island or , in other words , determine due south . It was by means of the shadow cast on the sand by the stick , a way which , for want of an instrument , would give him a suitable approach to the result which he wished to obtain . In fact , the moment when this shadow would reach its minimum of length would be exactly twelve o'clock , and it would be enough to watch the extremity of the shadow , so as to ascertain the instant when , after having successively diminished , it began to lengthen . By inclining his stick to the side opposite to the sun , Cyrus Harding made the shadow longer , and consequently its modifications would be more easily ascertained . In fact , the longer the needle of a dial is , the more easily can the movement of its point be followed . The shadow of the stick was nothing but the needle of a dial .