six
in the morning
He was kept busy telling them about the terrible hours on board the submarine , until he was tired and sleepy . Then he wended his way to the cabin and was soon asleep . The distance from the point where they boarded the ship to Havre was about two hundred miles . Ordinarily , they would have reached port at six in the morning , but the route during the night was a slow and tedious one , for the reason that all ships along the channel route were permitted to pass only during certain hours when the war vessels acted as guides and convoys through the open lane . Once near the zone of the nets no lights were permitted , and each ship had to be taken through by special vessels designated for this work , and , when once clear of the nets , extra precautions were taken to convoy them to relative points of safety beyond . When Ralph awoke the next morning , and saw that it was past six , he hurriedly dressed himself , and , taking a look at Alfred , who was quietly sleeping , ascended the deck . He was surprised to see nothing but the open sea on all sides .