About ten o'clock
He was not the man to be led away by an idle tale , and the mere fact that he was willing to join me in the investigation was proof that he thought there was something seriously wrong , which could not be accounted for on ordinary theories , nor laughed down as a common superstition . To some extent , too , his reputation was at stake , as well as the reputation of the ship . It is no light thing to lose passengers overboard , and he knew it . About ten o'clock that evening , as I was smoking a last cigar , he came up to me and drew me aside from the beat of the other passengers who were patrolling the deck in the warm darkness . `` This is a serious matter , Mr. Brisbane , '' he said . `` We must make up our minds either way -- to be disappointed or to have a pretty rough time of it . You see , I can not afford to laugh at the affair , and I will ask you to sign your name to a statement of whatever occurs .