twelve o'clock
He had never offered to come to the assistance of the doctor , although appealed to in the most pitiable gestures . This I observed with secret pleasure , and would the more willingly have given him a brush , as I saw he was disinclined to make the attempt . I was , however , determined to be at the head of the mess . At twelve o'clock that night I was relieved from the first watch , and coming down , I found the old mate in a state of beastly intoxication . Thus he went to his hammock , and fell asleep . While he lay `` dormant , '' I took a piece of lunar caustic , which I wetted , and drew stripes and figures all over his weather-beaten face , increasing his natural ugliness to a frightful degree , and made him look very like a New Zealand warrior . The next morning , when he was making his toilet , my party were all ready prepared for the _ éclaircissement _ .