a quarter to twelve
And it brought home pretty vividly to me , if not to any of the others , the sense of a personal danger aboard . We had gone below for the eight to twelve watch , and my last impression of the weather at eight o'clock , was that the wind was freshening . There had been a great bank of cloud rising astern , which had looked as if it were going to breeze up still more . At a quarter to twelve , when we were called for our twelve to four watch on deck , I could tell at once , by the sound , that there was a fresh breeze blowing ; at the same time , I heard the voices of the men on the other watch , singing out as they hauled on the ropes . I caught the rattle of canvas in the wind , and guessed that they were taking the royals off her . I looked at my watch , which I always kept hanging in my bunk . It showed the time to be just after the quarter ; so that , with luck , we should escape having to go up to the sails .