about midnight
Afore night come we wus out o ' sight astern . Thar wus eight o ' us in the crew , beside the nigger , an ' we had twelve Dutchmen under hatches below . I sorter looked ` round , an ' sized up four o ' that crew ter be good honest sailormen , who 'd been shanghied same as I wus . So , long about midnight , I 'd got ter talk with all these fellers , an ' when LaGrasse went down below ter take a snooze in the cabin , we hoisted them Dutchmen on deck , flung a couple o ' hell-hounds overboard , an ' just naturally took control . The mate wus a dead nigger afore he ever knew whut wus up . When daylight come we wus streakin ' it eastward by compass , an ' every damn sail set . Thet wus the easiest part of it .