midnight
He found it very difficult to recall anything that had happened since then . On his first arrival he was worn out and exhausted . He remembered vaguely how he came in sight of the giant cliff , how he dragged the boat along , how he secured it to a tree , and then how he flung himself down on the grass and fell asleep . After that all was obscure to his memory ; but he could recall his waking at midnight and listening to the roar of the wind and the dash of the surf . Evidently there must have been a heavier sea on the beach at that time than when he landed , and this was sufficient to account for the accident to the boat . She had been beating on the rough rocks at high tide , exposed to the full sweep of the surf , and her bows had been stove in . The melancholy spectacle of the ruined boat made Tom see that his stay on the island might be prolonged even beyond the following day .