midnight
And after some five minutes I saw -- I thought that I saw -- it . The fog had , if anything thickened ; and it was now very near the end of my watch . It had entered the ship , I concluded , by the boards which slanted from an opening in the port bulwarks down to the ice . Once before , in November , a bear , having smelled the dogs , had ventured on board at midnight : but _ then _ there had resulted a perfect hubbub among the dogs . _ Now _ , even in the midst of my excitement , I wondered at their quietness , though some whimpered -- with fear , I thought . I saw the creature steal forward from the hatchway toward the kennels a-port ; and I ran noiselessly , and seized the watch-gun which stood always loaded by the companionway . By this time , the form had passed the kennels , reached the bows , and now was making toward me on the starboard side .