midnight
He felt quite well now . All the dizziness and nausea had vanished , and he was his own strong , sturdy self again . The roll and swap of the boat were only the rock of a giant cradle ; the surge of the sea , a deep-toned lullaby soothing him to pleasant dreams ; and the sky ! Dan had never seen such a midnight sky . He lay , with his head pillowed in his clasped hands , looking up at the starry splendor above him with a wonder akin to awe . The great , blue vault arching above him blazed with light from a myriad stars , that his books had told him were worlds greater than this on whose wide waters he was tossing now , -- worlds whose history the wisest of men could never know , -- worlds , thousands and millions of them , moving in shining order by `` rule and law . '' `` Rule and law , '' -- it was the lesson that seemed to face Dan everywhere , -- down in those black depths he had penetrated to-day , where valve and lever and gauge held roaring fire and hissing steam , with all their fierce force , to submission and service ; in the polished mechanism whose steady throb he could feel pulsing beneath him like a giant heart ; in the radiant sky where worlds beyond worlds swept on their mysterious way -- obeying .