midnight
He struck a match , and saw it was just ten o'clock . There could be no doubt , then , that the bell they heard was that on board a ship ; still it was so faint that she was probably a long way off . Tom could now only steer by the wind , which , however , he believed was holding steady . He had settled with Desmond to go about at four bells , and to keep on the starboard tack until midnight , then again to go about . He had just ordered Pat to let fly the jib sheet , and had put down the helm , when , as the boat was in stays , Pat sang out -- `` A sail right ahead ! '' What was Tom 's horror at that instant to see a vast pyramid of sail towering above him . The next moment a crash was heard ; the stranger 's stem struck the boat 's bow .