midnight
The Whittington family was not the only happy one in Camp Spurling that night . There was little sleep on Tarpaulin , either for rescuers or rescued , until the small hours of the morning . The cabin was crowded to its utmost capacity , as the fish-house was too cold for the drenched , wearied men . Filippo kept a hot fire going until long after midnight , and served out coffee galore . During his intervals of leisure he and Frank conversed in liquid Sicilian . Outside , the storm roared and the surf boomed on the ledges about Brimstone ; beyond in the blackness lay the wrecked _ Barona _ , hammering to pieces . Gradually conversation ceased and the camp grew quiet .