three o'clock in the morning
Hercules and Acteon were on watch on the forecastle . Aft , the light from the binnacle only gave a faint gleam , which the metallic apparatus of the wheel reflected softly . The ship 's lanterns throwing their lights laterally , left the deck of the vessel in profound darkness . Toward three o'clock in the morning , a kind of hypnotic phenomenon took place , of which old Tom was not even conscious . His eves , which were fixed too long on a luminous point of the binnacle , suddenly lost the power of vision , and he fell into a true anæsthetic sleep . Not only was he incapable of seeing , but if one had touched or pinched him hard he would probably have felt nothing . So he did not see a shadow which glided over the deck .