nearly midnight
There was no house ; but an old steamboat , long since condemned as not `` river-worthy , '' lay at the landing . This hulk , moored by strong cables to the bank , formed an excellent floating wharf ; while its spacious deck , cabins , and saloons , served as a storehouse for all sorts of merchandise . It was , in fact , used both as a landing and warehouse , and was known as the `` wharf-boat . '' It was late , -- nearly midnight , -- as I stepped aboard the wharf-boat . Stragglers from the town , who may have had business there , had all gone away , and the owner of the store-boat was himself absent . A drowsy negro , his _ locum tenens _ , was the only human thing that offered itself to my eyes . The lower deck of the boat was tenanted by this individual , who sat behind a counter that enclosed one corner of the apartment .