midnight
With his heart in his throat the venturesome lad groped like a blind man , grievously barking his shins and his knuckles , until he bumped into the timbers of the bulkhead . Inching himself along , he came to the small door which had been cut into the hold to connect with the main hatch . He had slipped the iron bar behind him during his flight with Jack Cockrell . Pulling the door ajar he wormed through into the storeroom which was also dark as midnight . His fingers touched what seemed to be a tierce of beef but he had no tools to start the head or the hoops . In the same manner he discovered other casks and barrels but they were utterly useless to him . Here was food enough , he reflected , if a man had teeth to gnaw through oak staves .