midnight
He was n't likely to come down with hot chills and puzzling striped fever . They ignored the ladder down to the planet surface and , with only a glance at the seismological gauge to judge surface resistance , dropped to the ground . It was day , but in the thin atmosphere contrasts were sharp between light and shadow . They walked from midnight to noon , noon to midnight , and came to the beast sprawled on its side . Ekstrohm nudged it with a boot . `` Hey , this is pretty close to a wart-hog . '' `` Uh-huh , '' Ryan admitted .