nine o'clock
`` We made a direct course for the Ellice Islands , '' resumed Mrs. Tracey , `` and met with light winds till we were near Pleasant Island , when it began to blow steadily from the north-west . We sighted Pleasant Island just before dark , and at half-past eight we could see the lights of the native villages on the shore . That evening my husband had turned in early , for he was not feeling well , and complained of a severe headache . I remained with him till half-past nine o'clock , and then , seeing that he had fallen asleep , I went on deck for some fresh air , for the cabin was very hot and stuffy . `` No one was on the poop but the man at the wheel -- an Hawaiian native . Barradas was somewhere on the main deck , for I heard his voice talking to some of the men . `` I had brought on deck a rug and my pillow , and telling the man at the wheel to call me at four bells , if I were asleep , I lay down at the back of the wheel-house , so as to be out of the way of the officer of the watch and out of sight .