midnight
The rushing tide , the ragged rock-teeth which showed through it , the trackless , unending forests that clothed the hills in every direction , awed her a little , yet gave her an unaccustomed feeling of freedom and contentment . The long wait out between the lonely islands , where the tiny cockle-shell rolled strangely , although the sea seemed as level as a floor , held a subtle excitement . Darkness crept down out of the unpeopled gorges and swallowed them up , thrilling her with a sense of mystery . When midnight came she found that she was ravenously hungry , and she was agreeably surprised when O'Neil produced an elaborate lunch . There were even thermos bottles filled with steaming hot coffee , more delicious , she thought , than anything she had ever before tasted . He called the meal their after-theater party , pretending that they had just come from a Broadway melodrama of shipwreck and peril . The subject led them naturally to talk of New York , and she found he was more familiar with the city than she .