midnight
In the evening they had sat up late with Captain Hollinger , talking rifles and ammunition , and they were weary enough to sleep soundly . Mart 's porthole was open that night , as usual . He woke up suddenly to find the setting moon streaming in across his face , and got up to hang a towel across the open port , in order not to exclude the fresh air . As he did so , he heard the ship 's bell forward strike eight bells , and knew that it was midnight . There came a faint pad of bare feet forward -- the watches being changed . Then , as he stood for a moment gazing out at the moonlit sea , he heard the deep voice of the second mate , Liverpool Peters , who had apparently just taken charge of the deck . `` All right , Mr. Swanson .