two o'clock
They had , long before , made every preparation ; the cutlasses had been ground , the boarding-pikes sharpened , and the pistols loaded and primed . Piles of shot lay by the side of the guns , and it needed only to fetch up the powder cartridges from the magazine to be ready for action . The marines had cleaned and loaded all the muskets , and placed them in the racks . At two o'clock , after dinner had been eaten , Wilkinson said to the boatswain : `` The starboard-watch can sling their hammocks and turn in if they like . If these fellows mean to come out and attack us , they will hardly do it before it becomes dark ; perhaps not until two or three o'clock in the morning , and as we shall have to be watchful , there is no occasion for both watches to stay on deck now . The port watch shall go off from two bells till eight ; as they take the first watch they will be all the brighter for a snooze beforehand . '' `` I wish the beggars would come out and have done with it , '' he went on to Edgar , as the boatswain turned away and blew his whistle .