4 o'clock in the morning
Of the three great kingdoms that hold dominion on the surface of the globe , the mineral , the vegetable and the animal , one alone was represented on the lunar sphere : the mineral , the whole mineral , and nothing but the mineral . `` Why ! '' exclaimed Ardan , with a disconcerted look , after a long and searching examination , `` I ca n't find anybody . Everything is as motionless as a street in Pompeii at 4 o'clock in the morning ! '' -LSB- Illustration : THE SOLUTION STILL ESCAPED HIM . -RSB- `` Good comparison , friend Ardan ; '' observed M'Nicholl . `` Lava , slag , volcanic eminences , vitreous matter glistening like ice , piles of scoria , pitch black shadows , dazzling streaks , like rivers of light breaking over jagged rocks -- these are now beneath my eye -- these alone I can detect -- not a man -- not an animal -- not a tree .