eight in the
evening
They pulled in sick and dogged silence , though Mr. Pike , ubiquitous , snarled out orders and rapped out oaths from every angle upon their miserable heads . Certainly , from what I had read , no ship of the old days ever proceeded so sadly and blunderingly to sea . Ere long Mr. Mellaire joined Mr. Pike in the struggle of directing the men . It was not yet eight in the evening , and all hands were at work . They did not seem to know the ropes . Time and again , when the half-hearted suggestions of the bosuns had been of no avail , I saw one or the other of the mates leap to the rail and put the right rope in the hands of the men . These , on the deck , I concluded , were the hopeless ones .