One minute past five
The reporter held his chronometer in his hand , ready to tell the hour which it marked when the shadow would be at its shortest . Moreover , as Cyrus Harding was working on the 16th of April , the day on which the true and the average time are identical , the hour given by Gideon Spilett would be the true hour then at Washington , which would simplify the calculation . Meanwhile as the sun slowly advanced , the shadow slowly diminished , and when it appeared to Cyrus Harding that it was beginning to increase , he asked , `` What o'clock is it ? '' `` One minute past five , '' replied Gideon Spilett directly . They had now only to calculate the operation . Nothing could be easier . It could be seen that there existed , in round numbers , a difference of five hours between the meridian of Washington and that of Lincoln Island , that is to say , it was midday in Lincoln Island when it was already five o'clock in the evening in Washington .