midnight
He was left much to himself , for the Captain demanded his services only at meal times and to set his cabin in order in the morning . In the long intervals the boy sat , inconspicuous in a corner of the fore-deck , watching the gayly dressed ruffians of the crew , as they threw dice or quarrelled noisily over their winnings . He was assigned to no watch , but usually went below at the same time as Job Howland , thus keeping out of the way of Daggs , the man with the broken nose . As Howland was in the port watch , on deck from sunset to midnight , Jeremy often took comfort in the sight of his loved stars wheeling westward through the taut shrouds . He would stand there with a lump in his throat as he thought of his father 's anguish on returning to the island to find the sheep uncared for and the young shepherd vanished . In a region desolate as that , he knew that there was but one conclusion for them to reach . Still , they might find the ashes of the pirate fire and keep up a hope that he yet lived .