About midnight
The minutes passed on , and neither the Irishman nor the expected flock of birds came . Minutes grew into hours , and only the sobbing waves and melancholy cries of birds broke the silence . Surely something had happened to his companion . About midnight a dense fog settled over the island , and the alarm and discomfiture of the Englishman became supreme . At one moment he was cursing Terrence , and the next offering prayer for his soul . Never did man pass a more dreary night . At last dawn came , and he could see , far across the water , his ship but a speck in the distance .