midnight
It was time that it came more plainly into view , and a new source of anxiety beset him , as he could discover no signs of its vicinity . Certain that he was on the course , after making a due allowance for the direction of the wind , the stout-hearted young man swam on . He next determined not to annoy himself by fruitless searches , or vain regrets , but to swim steadily for a certain time , a period long enough to carry him a material distance , ere he again looked for the object of his search . For twenty minutes longer did that courageous and active youth struggle with the waste of waters , amid the obscurity and solitude of midnight . He now believed himself near a mile from the wreck , and the star which had so long served him for a beacon was getting near to the horizon . He took a new observation of another of the heavenly bodies nigh it , to serve him in its stead when it should disappear altogether , and then he raised himself in the water , and looked about again for the boat . The search was in vain .