midnight
After staying on the island more than two years , he finally escaped in the boat of an American whaler , which landed him at Valparaiso . From this period he had continued to follow the seas , as a man before the mast , until about eighteen months previous , when he went ashore at Tahiti , where he now owned the schooner we saw , in which he traded among the neighbouring islands . The breeze springing up again just after nightfall , Viner left us , promising his old shipmate to see him again , three days hence , in Papeetee harbour . EXHAUSTED by the day 's wassail , most of the men went below at an early hour , leaving the deck to the steward and two of the men remaining on duty ; the mate , with Baltimore and the Dane , engaging to relieve them at midnight . At that hour , the ship -- now standing off shore , under short sail -- was to be tacked . It was not long after midnight , when we were wakened in the forecastle by the lion roar of Jermin 's voice , ordering a pull at the jib-halyards ; and soon afterwards , a handspike struck the scuttle , and all hands were called to take the ship into port . This was wholly unexpected ; but we learned directly that the mate , no longer relying upon the consul , and renouncing all thought of inducing the men to change their minds , had suddenly made up his own .