ten o'clock in the evening
`` But when did the Bellevite leave the wharf ? '' asked the major , evidently very much puzzled at what he regarded as the singular conduct of the owner of the steamer . `` I do n't know , sir . It was after ten o'clock in the evening when we first saw her out in the bay . '' `` Was she at anchor ? '' `` I think not . I was ordered not to go very near her , and I could not tell . ''