five o'clock
Not that his companions thought of taking rest . Far from it . With senses as high-strung as ever , they still watched carefully for every new fact , every unexpected incident that might throw some light on the sidereal investigations . Even their dinner , or what was called so , consisted of only a few bits of bread and meat , distributed by Ardan at five o'clock , and swallowed mechanically . They did not even turn on the gas full head to see what they were eating ; each man stood solidly at his window , the glass of which they had enough to do in keeping free from the rapidly condensing moisture . At about half-past five , however , M'Nicholl , who had been gazing for some time with his telescope in a particular direction , called the attention of his companions to some bright specks of light barely discernible in that part of the horizon towards which the Projectile was evidently moving . His words were hardly uttered when his companions announced the same discovery .