midnight
He thanked me amid some rambling , light-headed talk -- the most of it too quickly poured out for me to catch ; but by-and-by grew easier and drowsy . I left him to sleep , putting off questions for the morning . But early on the morrow -- between five and six o'clock -- came Will Hendra , a cowkeeper , into our courtyard with a strange tale ; one that disquieted if it did not altogether astonish me . The tale -- as told before my Master , whom I aroused to hear it -- ran thus : that between midnight and one in the morning the Portugals in the Cove had been set upon and beaten from the spoils by a number of men with pikes -LRB- no doubt belonging to Saint Aubyn or Godolphin , or both -RRB- , and forced to flee to the cliffs . But -LRB- here came in the wonder -RRB- the assailants , having mastered the field , fell on the casks , chests , and packages , only to find them utterly empty or filled with weed and gravel ! Of freight -- so Will Hendra had it from one of Godolphin 's own men , who were now searching the cliffs and caverns -- not twelve-pennyworth remained on the beach . The Portugals must have hidden or made away with it all .