ten o'clock
`` So did I , '' said Tom ; and he took out his watch , intending to look at it by the light of the binnacle lamp , when at that instant the lamp went out . The oil had been exhausted , and there was no more in the can . Pat , he had reason to fear , had taken a pull at it unperceived . He struck a match , and saw it was just ten o'clock . There could be no doubt , then , that the bell they heard was that on board a ship ; still it was so faint that she was probably a long way off . Tom could now only steer by the wind , which , however , he believed was holding steady . He had settled with Desmond to go about at four bells , and to keep on the starboard tack until midnight , then again to go about .