midnight
There was but one thing I could think of , and that was to order all the scuttles to be securely closed , and this was at once done , although it rendered the cabins insupportably hot and close . Of course I should have liked to send down the royal and topgallant yards , and to have housed the fore topgallant mast and main topmast , and I would have attempted it had we had a decently willing crew ; but I doubted whether the Dagoes would have undertaken the job , except under compulsion ; and I was unwilling to engage in a tussle with a crowd of insubordinates with a hurricane threatening to burst upon us at any moment . Naturally , under the circumstances I never dreamed of turning in ; nor did any of the others , for that matter , the boatswain and Chips keeping me company aft , while a glance for ` ard showed that even the forecastle bunch , jealous as they were of their `` rights '' , preferred for once in a way to spend their watch below on deck . Shortly after midnight the weird , ruddy light began to fade , indicating that the crisis was approaching . I accordingly sent the boy Billy below , secured the companion doors , and closed the slide , knowing this to be one of the ship 's most vulnerable points in a heavy sea , such as one might expect when the gale should burst upon us , and thereafter there was nothing more to be done but to abide events . It was about half an hour later , and the light had almost entirely faded , when we got our first distinct warning to `` stand by '' . It came in the form of a sudden scurry of wind , apparently from nowhere in particular , that swept , whining and moaning , over the ship , causing the canvas to flap violently -- and then it was gone .