midnight
But Captain Scott had hardly closed his eyes during the night . From the time the Fatimé was found to be headed to the northward , the officers of the Maud had lost sight of her for only a couple of hours , when a bank of fog swept over the sea , just before sundown . 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 .