about midnight
By wheeling a little out of their course , to the left or right , and by flying up over one big cloud which could not be avoided in any other manner , they managed to dodge the most dangerous fields of lightning and the worst torrents of rain . Presently they left the dark clouds far behind , and once more the stars appeared in the blue firmament above and the pale moon lit up the tropical sea . With relief John guided the Sky-Bird lower , so that they could keep a sharp lookout for guide-posts of land . They passed several small islets which were uncharted with them , but when , about midnight , they made out a great black blotch not far ahead , they recognized it as the southern end of the island of Borneo , and knew they were all right . In a little while Borneo was sweeping along below them , its mangroved shores gloomy and desolate-looking , not to say weird , in the pale moonlight . Among those dense forests and thickets the flyers knew many a wild animal was prowling at that very moment , and in the thatched huts in the glens slept many a fierce-visaged savage with weapons close at hand . Toward morning the flyers observed a volcano in active eruption off to the southeastward , apparently on the island of Timor .