midnight
The star now pointed out to us , had been fixed upon by the companions of the little islander , at the commencement of their ill-fated voyage , as marking the direction of the home which they were destined never to regain . Among other things , we learned from the boy , that his native island , which we were now endeavouring to reach , was the largest of a group of three , over all of which his father 's authority , as chief or king , extended : that there were six whites living among them , who had arrived there many years before , with the one who had just perished , and had come from an uninhabited island to the southward , upon which they had been wrecked . During the night the wind continued fair , and animated by the hopes to which the statements of the little native had given rise , we renewed our watch , which had lately been discontinued , and sailed steadily northward , cherishing a strong confidence that we should reach land before morning . The second watch -- from a little after midnight to dawn -- fell to me . As it began to grow light I almost feared to look northward , dreading the shock of a fresh disappointment , that must consign us again to the benumbing apathy from which we had yesterday rallied . There seemed to me to be something unusual in the atmosphere , that impeded , or rather confused and bewildered the sight ; and when the sun rose , I had not made out anything like land . It was not mist or fog , for the air was dry , and there were already indications of a fiercely hot day , though it was yet fresh and cool .