midnight
We held our position till about four in the morning , when it was evident that the gale was breaking , though the sea was still very heavy . `` Light on the port quarter , '' said Buck , at one of the small windows of the pilot-house in front of his station . I rushed over to the port side , but the windows were so covered with water that I could see nothing . It was raining hard , as it had been since midnight . I went on deck , grasping a life-line to keep me from being knocked over by the flood of water that flowed down from the forecastle . I reached the ladder and went up to the hurricane-deck . I supposed the light the lookout had seen was on some vessel .