midnight
We lay in a sandy creek with banks of pines on each side , rising up very black against the sky , which had that still green enamelled look that it gets on a very quiet evening . At the far end of the creek was a large marsh covered with the white cotton rush then in bloom ; it caused a strange glimmering which I could see till it got quite dark . The only other sound was the wash of the short waves on the sands outside , and the gurgle and cluck of the water as it crept past the boat and out to sea . `` Toward midnight I saw a sight that I have never seen before nor expect to see again . I was surprised to see a light , apparently on the shore , in the direction of the marsh . It looked exactly like a lantern carried by a man . It was very indistinct , but wavered about , always floating about a foot or two from the surface , sometimes standing still as though he was looking for something on the ground , and sometimes moving very quickly .