midnight
But just tell me this , and then I 'll go to bed , sir . As we sha n't be right at the North Pole , how long will it be before we see the sun in the middle of the night ? '' `` That depends , my lad . If this breeze keeps up , we shall hoist sail , save our coal , and pass round the North Cape at midnight , and then we shall have a good three months ' sunshine in which to load our tanks with oil , have plenty of sport , and I hope -- best of all -- find our friends alive and little the worse for passing through an arctic winter in the snow . Now that 's quite enough for you to think of for one night . Down below . '' Stephen Young left the deck after giving a longing look round at the lovely sky , and feeling as if he had more to think of than he could well manage .