midnight
Lights twinkled in the cottages ashore , somewhat blurred by the mist ; but elsewhere it was dark ; the nearer rocks were outlined by their deeper black . '' ` Twill be now , '' Billy thought , `` or ` twill be never . Skipper Bill will sure be back with the _ Grand Lake _ to-morrow . '' Some time after midnight , while Billy was pacing the deck to keep himself warm and awake , he was hailed from the shore . '' 'T is from the point at the narrows , '' he thought . `` Sure , 't is Skipper Bill come back . '' Again he heard the hail -- his own name , coming from that point at the narrows .