six o'clock
`` I am not very strong , though stronger than Mr. Carr has been for many months . '' The captain eyed her with sudden malevolence ; Chard , bully as he was , with a secret admiration as she stood before them , still holding her revolver in her hand . She faced them in an attitude of defiance for a second or two , and then with a scornful laugh swept by them and went below to her cabin . At six o'clock that evening the _ Motutapu _ was plunging into a heavy head sea , for the wind had suddenly hauled round to the northeast and raised a mountainous swell . Chard and his jackal were seated in the latter 's cabin on deck . A half-emptied bottle of brandy was on the table , and both men 's faces were flushed with drink , for this was the second bottle since noon . Hendry did not present a pleasant appearance , for Tessa 's pistol had cut deeply into his thin , tough face , which was liberally adorned with strips of plaster .