midnight
Then the _ Barang 's _ anchor came up again immediately her new skipper set his foot on deck , the topsail yard , lowered to the cap on anchoring , was jerked aloft , and the brigantine stood silently out of the roadstead . Cape Lapa , at the east end of Madura Island , was smoky and indistinct on the port quarter when Captain Barry came out of his stateroom after two brief hours of sleep . He had kept the deck through the night until the brigantine was well away ; now , with a natural curiosity , he rose early to take a survey of his new command and her crew . Coming on board at black midnight he had sensed rather than seen his first officer . How far that first shadowy impression had satisfied him was evident when he permitted himself to sleep without verifying it by daylight . His crew he had only seen as noiseless shapes between dark bulwarks as they slid rather than ran in response to the officers ' orders in getting to sea . The _ Barang _ had a deckhouse companion , -- that is , a square house built over and around the head of the companionway stairs , forming a convenient chart room for the officers or a snug smoking lounge for possible passengers .