noon
Some time cold must follow warmth , foul follow fair , to work the inevitable mean . And it was too much to hope that this natural law would be suspended for them until the middle of February . In fact , the nights while remaining clear were hardening . The mercury in the tube sank by possibly a degree every two nights , at last touching zero ; and it correspondingly failed to arise by as much at noon . The days were cruelly short . Darkness lasted until eight in the morning ; it dropped down again at five . The frost crept deeper into the earth .