twelve o'clock
Blanche , he hath promised to care for you ; he is a man of honor , rely on him . '' A sudden lurch of the vessel sent all three in a heap at one side of the cabin , and , as soon as John could regain his feet and ascertain that the old gentleman and his daughter had sustained no injury , he went on deck . At about eleven o'clock , they could plainly distinguish a dreadful roaring noise resembling that of waves rolling against the rocks ; but the darkness of the day and the accompanying rain made it impossible to see for any distance , and John realized that , if they were near rocks , they might be dashed to pieces on them before they were perceived . At twelve o'clock , however , the weather cleared a little , when they discovered breakers and reefs outside , so that it was evident they had passed in quite close to them , and were now fairly hemmed in between the rocks and the land . At this very critical moment , the captain adopted the dangerous expedient of dropping anchor , to bring the ship up with her head to the sea . Any seaman of common sense and not frightened out of his wits must have known that no ship could ride at anchor in that storm . John Stevens , though no sailor , saw the folly of such a course and expostulated with the captain , but to no purpose .