eight p.m.
In port he is busy like everybody else ; but at sea , in fine weather , his greatest grievance is the short hours `` off '' and `` on . '' Our steamer carries but two deck officers , and these two keep alternate `` watch and watch '' throughout the twenty-four hours . This means that his watch below is all sleep . The Chief Officer comes off at eight p.m. , say , washes himself , smokes a pipe , and `` turns in . '' At eleven-forty-five the sailor coming on watch at the wheel calls him , and he `` turns out . '' Nothing can equal the ghastly expression on the faces of men who have been torn from their sleep at an unnaturally premature hour . They move along the iron decks like ghosts , peering into one 's face like disembodied spirits seeking their corporeal correlatives , and avoiding stanchions , chains , and other pitfalls in an uncanny fashion .