midnight
Well , the winter came by and by in good earnest , I can tell you . The sunlight all went away , and then , soon afterward , the autumn twilight went away ; and then came the darkness that I told you is constant , in the winter , up towards the North Pole , for the winter there is but one long night , you know . '' Here William , who was , as we have seen , of an inquiring turn of mind , interrupted the Captain to ask if he would not be so good as to mention again how dark it was in this polar winter . `` Dark as midnight , '' replied the Captain , promptly . `` Dark all the time , did you say , Captain Hardy ? '' `` Yes , dark all the time , my lad , -- dark in the morning , dark in the evening , dark at midnight , dark at noon , dark , all the time , as any night you ever saw ; only , everything being white with snow , of course makes the night lighter than it does here , where the trees and the houses , and other dark objects , help along the blackness and make it more gloomy , -- absorbing the light , you see , while the snow reflects it . '' `` But what , '' asked William , `` did you do for light in this dark time , since you did not have a lamp ? ''