midnight
After La Touche and I had had supper , he said he would remain in the cabin to look after his sick friend . One of the Frenchmen acted as steward , and the other as cook . The former frequently came into the cabin to bring us our meals , and to take food to the sick midshipman . I kept the first watch , and Ben relieved me at midnight , when I lay down on deck , on a mattress I had brought up from the cabin , under a small awning rigged near the after-part of the vessel . I had been asleep for a couple of hours or more , when I was awakened by feeling the vessel heel suddenly over . `` All hands on deck ! Shorten sail ! ''