twenty minutes
after ten
This was all that I could distinguish , and of this only the most elusive glimpse was to be had . Feeling as though the very marrow in my bones were frozen , I crawled to the companion and , pulling open the door , descended . The lamp in the companion burnt faintly . There was a clock fixed to a beam over the table ; my eyes directly sought it , and found the time twenty minutes after ten . This signified that I had ten or eleven hours of darkness before me ! I took down the lamp , trimmed it , and went to the lazarette hatch at the after end of the cabin . Here were kept the stores for the crew .