midday
The ship plowed on , its great lights cutting a steady course over the black water , its whole bulk quivering to the heartbeat of the mighty engines ; whispered good-nights and laughing good-nights were said in the narrow , hot hallways . Lights went out in cabin after cabin . The decks were dark and deserted . Below stairs the world that never slept hummed like a beehive ; squads of men were washing floors , laying tables ; the kitchen was as hot and busy as at midday ; the engine rooms were filled with silhouetted forms briskly coming and going . Up on one of the dark decks , with the soft mist blowing in his face , Jim spent the long night , his folded arms resting on the rail , his sombre eyes following the silent rush of waters , and in her cabin Julia lay wide awake and battling with despair . She had thought the old dim horror over and done with . Now she knew it never would be that ; now she knew there was no escape .