midnight
Here we have food and land , which I think we may fairly call our own ; there we should have neither . Here we have a home ; and how know you , Robert , that we may not yet make a fortune in the Desert ? ' `` We both laughed at the idea ; which , of course , Mary had meant only as a jest in order to render our prospects more cheering . `` It was now near midnight , for we had sat up to that late hour deliberating on what we should do . As I have said , we agreed to leave the matter undecided until the morrow . The moon was just appearing over the eastern cliff ; and we were about rising to retire to our resting-places , when our eyes fell upon an object that caused us all at the same time to cry out with astonishment . `` I have said , that when we first entered this valley there was no lake here .