midnight
With a grand flourish Shane indicated the flushing young man . `` Why he chose to keep it a secret all these months , he has n't told us yet , but -- perhaps Jean will find out ! '' Laughing at the incredulous look on Ellen 's face he limped out to the shed where Kayak Bill was doing up samples of ore to take aboard the _ Hoonah _ lying just off the bluff . At midnight the schooner was rippling gently over the long swells into an atmosphere of golden sunset light that flooded the sky and crinkled along the wavetops in shimmering , mellow orange . Up in the bow of the _ Hoonah _ silhouetted against the glow , old Kayak Bill stood alone . In his hazel eyes was the wistful look that crept there sometimes when he watched the domestic happiness of those about him . A-top the cabin by the mainmast Jean and Gregg stood looking back over the lengthening stretch of water .