8 p.m.
Sea watches were kept night and day ; half of the crew being on duty all the time , and one watch relieving the other every four hours . The watch `` on deck '' or on duty on a stormy night found it very tedious waiting for the `` watch below '' to come and relieve them . The man who could tell a story or sing a song was in great demand , and the man who could get up a `` Yankee '' song was a popular hero . The night after our wild goose chase , described in the last chapter , the port watch had the `` long watch '' ; that is , the watch from 8 p.m. to midnight , and from four to eight the next morning -- which allowed but four hour 's sleep . It was raining and the decks were wet and slippery . The water dripped off the rims of our sou ` westers in dismal fashion , and the fog hung like a blanket around the ship , while the sea lapped her sides unseen . Our fog-horn tooted at intervals , and everything was as damp , dark , and forlorn as could be .