midnight
It was falling dusk , and the sky was a curious cold , shadowy blue . A nipping wind came down across the darkening firs ashore , but there was no doubt that it had fallen somewhat , and Carroll resigned himself when Vane began to pull the tiers off the mainsail . In a few minutes they were under way , the sloop heading out toward open water with two reefs down in her mainsail , a gray and ghostly shape of slanted canvas that swept across the dim , furrowed plain of sea . By midnight the breeze was as strong as ever , but they had clear moonlight and they held on ; the craft plunging with flooded decks through the white combers , while Carroll sat at the helm , battered by spray and stung with cold . When Vane came up , an hour or two later , the sea was breaking viciously . Carroll would have put up his helm and run for shelter , had the decision been left to him ; but he saw his comrade 's face in the moonlight and refrained from any suggestion of that nature . There was a spice of dogged obstinacy in Vane , which , although on the whole it made for success , occasionally drove him into needless difficulties .