about midnight
Night came on , and the people , becoming more frightened , questioned old Etau , but all the answer she gave was , ' _ Three _ are doomed ! ' `` The passengers and crew were now terrified out of their wits , and they all went to bed with very melancholy forebodings , for the elements appeared as if they were arrested till the penalty was paid . For , you observe , pilot , there is always a light breeze as regular as the sun rises and goes down ; but now the breezes only appeared to skirt the land , and when they came from the offing invariably stopped two or three miles from the schooner . It was about midnight that there was a stir in the cabin , and it appeared that Mr. Shedden had the yellow fever , and shortly afterward another white man , a sailor belonging to the schooner , then one of Mr. Shedden 's slaves . Well , there the fever stopped -- no one else was taken ill -- the usual remedies were applied , but before morning they were all three delirious . At sunrise it was still calm , and continued so till sunset ; and all the day the passengers were annoyed by the back fins of the three sharks , which continued to swim about . Again they went to bed , and just before one o'clock in the morning Mr. Shedden , in his delirium , got out of his bed , and , rushing on the deck , jumped overboard before any one could prevent him ; and old Etau , who never left where she sat , was heard to say , ' _ One _ ! '