about two o'clock in
the afternoon
It satisfied me fully , I said ; and then we spread our blankets , and made a night of it on the floor . The next day Bainbridge spent the forenoon , for the most part , sitting on the edge of Dirk Peters ' cot , listening to the old man talk , describe , explain . I walked out , and explored the immediately adjacent country , entertaining myself as best I could . At about two o'clock in the afternoon we started for town , leaving Peters much better than when two days before we had first , together , entered his humble home . We promised to see him the next day ; and , in fact , one or both of us returned each day for many succeeding days . That evening Doctor Bainbridge came to my rooms , and began the recitation of Dirk Peters ' story ; and that , too , was continued from day to day . And it is now time that the patient reader should also know the secrets of that far-distant antarctic region -- secrets of which Poe himself died in ignorance -- save as the genius , the seer , knows the wonders of heaven and earth -- sees gems that lie in hidden places , and flowers that bloom obscurely , and feels the mysteries of ocean depths , and all that is so far -- or near , so great -- or small , that common vision sees it not .