midnight
He was with them nearly all day long . Tom was usually very busy ; so , too , was Uncle Staysail ; and though it must not be thought that Pete was an idle man , for he had much to study , still he always found time to romp and play with Aralia , Pansy , and the two dogs . Though the weather grew colder for a time , it was all one long , long summer 's day . For in the Arctic regions the sun never sets for at least three months , but just goes round and round , blazing high in the south at mid-day , and lower in the north at midnight . Indeed , in these seas , if you were not to look at the clock , you could not really tell whether it was night or day . Every evening now the little party gathered round the large stove , on which a copper urn of coffee was always gently simmering . Then the professor told his strangest stories , with perhaps Pansy on his knee , and Aralia lying on the hearth-rug with the dogs .