ten o'clock
And it was later that same night , as the steamer approached the Lipari Islands , that the drive forward he had received from the doctor 's words was increased by a succession of singular occurrences . At the same time , Stahl 's deliberate and as he deemed it unjustifiable interference , helped him to make up his mind decisively on certain other points . The first `` occurrence '' was of the same order as the `` bigness '' -- extraordinarily difficult , that is , to confirm by actual measurement . It was ten o'clock , Stahl still apparently in his cabin by himself , and most of the passengers below at an impromptu concert , when the Irishman , coming down from his long solitude , caught sight of the Russian and his boy moving about the dark after-deck with a speed and vigor that instantly arrested his attention . The suggestion of size , and of rapidity of movement , had never been more marked . It was as though a cloud of the summer darkness moved beside them . Then , going cautiously nearer , he saw that they were neither walking quickly , nor running , as he had first supposed , but -- to his amazement -- were standing side by side upon the deck -- stock still .