midnight before
Though there was little chance of anything happening during the night , we agreed that one at a time should sit up and watch to give notice of danger . The atmosphere was far fresher than it had been , for a light breeze had sprung up , but as it was directly contrary to the course of the ship , it did not seem necessary to set off in the attempt to find her , especially as we could not possibly carry all the turtles we had caught in one trip . I took my watch in the first part of the time . The early part of the night , it must be remembered , we were employed in turning the turtles , so that it was past midnight before we lay down , I was kept awake by having continually to throw dry leaves on the fire to keep up a smoke ; but even had it been otherwise , the beauty and strangeness of the scene would have kept me awake . Still , the moment I was relieved and put my head on the ground , I fell asleep with my faithful Solon by my side . I knew that he would keep a careful watch over me . I awoke by hearing Johnny Spratt exclaim -- `` Where can she be ? ''