midday
Do n't you see he 's a ` most goin ' to kick the bucket ? '' `` And no wonder , '' said the first speaker with an oath , `` after the tumble you gave him into the boat ! I guess it would have broke your neck if you had got it . '' I did indeed feel somewhat faint , which was owing , doubtless , to the combined effects of ill-usage and hunger ; for it will be recollected that I had dived out of the cave that morning before breakfast , and it was now near midday . I therefore gladly accepted a plate of boiled pork and a yam , which were handed to me by one of the men from the locker on which some of the crew were seated eating their dinner . But I must add that the zest with which I ate my meal was much abated in consequence of the frightful oaths and the terrible language that flowed from the lips of these godless men , even in the midst of their hilarity and good-humour . The man who had been alluded to as Bloody Bill was seated near me , and I could not help wondering at the moody silence he maintained among his comrades .