midnight
And afterwards , we carried all the loose woodwork of the boat into the tent , emptying the lockers of their contents , which included some oakum , a small boat 's hatchet , a coil of one-and-a-half-inch hemp line , a good saw , an empty colza-oil tin , a bag of copper nails , some bolts and washers , two fishing-lines , three spare tholes , a three-pronged grain without the shaft , two balls of spun yarn , three hanks of roping-twine , a piece of canvas with four roping-needles stuck in it , the boat 's lamp , a spare plug , and a roll of light duck for making boat 's sails . And so , presently , the dark came down upon the island , at which the bo ` sun waked the men , and bade them throw more fuel on to the fire , which had burned down to a mound of glowing embers much shrouded in ash . After that , one of them part filled the boiler with fresh water , and soon we were occupied most pleasantly upon a supper of cold , boiled salt-meat , hard biscuits , and rum mixed with hot water . During supper , the bo ` sun made clear to the men regarding the watches , arranging how they should follow , so that I found I was set down to take my turn from midnight until one of the clock . Then , he explained to them about the burst plank in the bottom of the boat , and how that it would have to be put right before we could hope to leave the island , and that after that night we should have to go most strictly with the victuals ; for there seemed to be nothing upon the island , that we had up till then discovered , fit to satisfy our bellies . More than this , if we could find no fresh water , he should have to distil some to make up for that which we had drunk , and this must be done before leaving the island . Now by the time that the bo ` sun had made an end of explaining these matters , we had ceased from eating , and soon after this we made each one of us a comfortable place in the sand within the tent , and lay down to sleep .