midnight
The men he knew believed him dead , and he well remembered the proverbial superstition of sailors , and it struck him that the time might come when it would stand him in hand to take advantage of the startling shock that would certainly attend his reappearance before that murderous crew . Night fell , and the detective strained his eyes to watch the movements on board the `` Nancy . '' The men , as he discovered , were playing their game well ; at the proper hour their lights were set , and all the necessary precautions taken for a vessel which proposed to lay at anchor all night in a water way . The detective was still on the watch , while the hours slowly glided away until near midnight , when he saw certain movements on board the boat that warned him she was about to change her position . The detective , who had been lying on the grass rose to his feet , prepared to follow the movements of the `` Nancy , '' when he was suddenly confronted by an armed man . The detective was momentarily taken all aback . The stranger came upon him suddenly .