midnight
Make ready -- present -- fire ! In a moment the troops of the Celestial Empire smarted , and were spattered with seeming gore , and fled yelling . Then he told how a poor comrade of his was nabbed and clapped in prison , and his hands and feet were to be cut off at sunrise ; himself at noon . It was midnight , and strict orders from the quarterdeck had been issued that no man should leave the ship : what was to be done ? It was a moonlight night . They met , silent as death , between decks -- dare n't speak above a whisper , for fear the officers should hear them . His messmate was crying like a child .