midnight
Night came on , yet Billy remained moving about as he had not done for several weeks past . `` Why , Billy , you seem , to be able to see your way as well as ever , '' said Tom , who observed him . `` So I do ; although , between the flashes , the night is dark enough , I can make out objects as well as I ever could . '' Though the gale continued , the thunderstorm blew over before midnight , and Billy , with the rest of the watch below , turned in . The next evening he found to his infinite satisfaction that his moon blindness no longer existed , and the doctor and all who pretended to any scientific knowledge , were of opinion that it had been cured by the electric fluid , which had glanced across his face . `` Another half-inch , however , and we might have had a different tale to tell of you , '' observed the doctor . `` How so ? ''