four o'clock
They fell about , sometimes four or five at once , and his blows flew thick and fast , yet he never seemed to weary of his ill-doing . It made me quite sick , and I longed to be aft at the wheel again . Catching sight of me standing irresolute as to what I had better do , he ordered me on the `` look-out , '' a tiny platform between the `` knight heads , '' just where the bowsprit joins the ship . Gladly I obeyed him , and perched up there looking over the wide sea , the time passed quickly away until eight bells -LRB- four o'clock -RRB- terminated my watch . I must pass rapidly over the condition of things in the fo ` lk ` sle , where all the greenies that were allowed below , were groaning in misery from the stifling atmosphere which made their sickness so much worse , while even that dreadful place was preferable to what awaited them on deck . There was a rainbow-coloured halo round the flame of the lamp , showing how very bad the air was ; but in spite of that I turned in and slept soundly till seven bells -LRB- 7.20 a.m. -RRB- roused us to breakfast . American ships generally have an excellent name for the way they feed their crews , but the whalers are a notable exception to that good rule .