midnight
But at eight bells her lights had been discovered . At midnight they could still be seen ; but the captain and Morris were confident that she had been losing ground , judging by the diminished clearness of the triangle of lanterns as they appeared over the stern of the Maud . The lights of a vessel following another appear to the latter in this form , with the white , or plain one , at the upper apex of the triangle , the red and the green making the two abreast of each other . They were observed at seven bells in the first watch ; but another fog-bank had passed over the sea , and at eight bells , or midnight , they could not be seen . Morris and Louis had the first watch . Felix had gone to take his nap in the galley ; for Pitts , the cook , had been called into service , and was attending to the reefed sail on the upper deck . Captain Scott had joined him here .