eight o'clock
It was night before we got our wreck clear ; and then we had to look about us , to get out spare spars , fit them , rig them , point them , and sway them aloft . The last operation , however , was deferred until morning . As it was , the day 's work had been hard , and the people really wanted rest . Rest was granted them at eight o'clock ; at which hour , our late antagonist was visible about a league distant , the darkness beginning to envelope her . In the morning the horizon was clear , owing to the repulsion which existed in so much force between the two vessels . It was not our business to trouble ourselves about the fate of our adversary , but to take heed of our own . That morning we go ' up our spars , crossed the yards , and made sail again .