about ten minutes after eight
The captain and mates live amidships under the bridge , while we engineers all live in the poop , under the quarter-deck , as they call it in the Navy . There is a long gangway between the two houses , but as a general thing we live apart . We have our own pantry and steward and we can go straight out of our berths into the engine-room without coming on deck at all . `` It was the second night after we left Bremerhaven that this happened and about ten minutes after eight bells , midnight . I keep the eight to twelve watch with the Fourth , you see , and it often happens that I do n't feel like turning in right away . It was a clear yet dark night without a ripple on the sea . It had been one of those calm days that we have in English waters in winter time , a pale sun shining through a light haze , cold yet pleasant .