midnight
The lighthouse creaked ; the sea roared . Out on the point , the breakers on the shoals sounded like cannon shots ... . At times , an invisible finger tapped at the panes ; it was some bird of the night , drawn by the light , braining itself against the glass ... . Inside the sparkling , hot lantern , nothing was heard except the crackling flame , the dripping oil , the chain unwinding and the monotonous intoning of the life of Demetrius of Phaleron ... * * * * * At midnight , the keeper stood up , took a last peek at the wicks and we went below . We passed the keeper of the second watch , rubbing his eyes as he came up . We gave him the flask and the Petrarch . Then , before retiring , we briefly entered the locker-room below , which was full of chains , heavy weights , metal tanks , and rope .