midnight
Presently I heard a foot upon the ladder , and looking up , saw a wide trousers ' leg . Immediately , Navy Bob , a stout old Triton , stealthily descended , and at once went to groping in the locker after something to eat . Supper ended , he proceeded to load his pipe . Now , for a good comfortable smoke at sea , there never was a better place than the Julia 's forecastle at midnight . To enjoy the luxury , one wants to fall into a kind of dreamy reverie , only known to the children of the weed . And the very atmosphere of the place , laden as it was with the snores of the sleepers , was inducive of this . No wonder , then , that after a while Bob 's head sunk upon his breast ; presently his hat fell off , the extinguished pipe dropped from his mouth , and the next moment he lay out on the chest as tranquil as an infant .