midnight
But , first of all , I consulted with our native crew as to whether we could dispense with the net by remaining on the island all night and watching for the turtle to come ashore . They all assured me that we should get none , or at best but few , as it was not the laying season . `` Very well , '' I said , `` go off to the ship , and tell the captain that there is no pearl-shell here , but plenty of turtle . Ask him if he will let you have the turtle-net , so that we can set it across the mouth of the passage as soon as it becomes dark ; and tell him we shall come off again by midnight if he does not care about our staying till the morning ; but that as we are pretty sure to get a lot of turtle , he had better send the longboat as well . '' Yorke , at first , intended to go off again to the _ Francesca _ , but I told him I was so sure that Guest would come to an anchor when he heard about the turtle , that he -LRB- Guest -RRB- would be sure to tell Napoleon and the other men on board the cutter to do the same . `` In fact , '' I added , `` a supply of turtle will be a God-send to us , and the skipper will not mind , I am sure , if we stay here for a couple of days , under the circumstances . '' We pulled ashore to a little sandy beach , and Yorke and myself , taking our rifles , ammunition , and a few biscuits each , got out , the native crew at once starting off again for the ship , pulling as hard as they could , for they were eager to return with the turtle-net and enjoy themselves as only South Sea Islanders and other of Nature 's children do when fishing .