about midnight
And after the sun had gone it was worse ; it is true that I could no longer see that huge hard circle , but I knew that , although invisible , it was still there , and now in addition I had a black vault over me , and it grew cold , and a loneliness closed down on me such as I had not experienced while I had the sun and his warmth for companions . I dared not contemplate the prospect of many such days and nights ; I simply dared not let myself think . I tried to sleep , but was too cold . A breeze sprang up at about midnight , and the buoy rocked more noticeably ; again , I dared not picture my discomfort should the weather change . I called it discomfort ; I did n't know then , I had n't yet begun to learn . `` Two days passed like that . Two whole days .