one o'clock in the morning
Men of talent had never invented anything better . From it he used to bring back the humming songs with which he beguiled his long watches on the bridge . Besides , it had a feminine chorus brilliantly clad and bare-legged , a prima donna rich in flesh and poor in clothes , a row of rosy and voluptuous ninepins that delighted the seamen 's imagination without making him forget the obligations of fidelity . At one o'clock in the morning , when returning to the boat along the solitary entrance pier , some one had tried to assassinate him . Hearing footsteps , he fancied that he had seen forms hiding behind a mountain of merchandise . Then there had sounded three reports , three revolver shots . A ball had whistled by one of his ears .