midnight
At last one night I was roused by Agnew . He pointed far away to the distant horizon , where I saw a deep red glow as of fire . We were both filled with wonder at the sight , and were utterly unable to account for it . We knew that it could not be caused by the sun or the moon , for it was midnight , and the cause lay on the earth and not in the skies . It was a deep , lurid glow , extending along the horizon , and seemed to be caused by some vast conflagration . At the sight of that deep-red glow various feelings arose within us : in me there was new dejection ; in Agnew there was stronger hope . I could not think but that it was our ship that was on fire , and was burning before our eyes .