midnight
The carrying was over , and I fancy they were all sitting on the ends of kegs or leaning up against the pile ; but could not see , and was still much troubled with the torch smoke , though now and then I caught through it a whiff of tobacco , which showed that some were smoking . Then Greening , who had a singing voice for all his drawl , struck up with -- Says the Cap'n to the crew , We have slipt the revenue , but Ratsey stopped him with a sharp ` No more of that ; the words are n't to our taste tonight , but come as wry as if the parson called _ Old Hundred _ and I tuned up with _ Veni _ . ' I knew he meant the last verse with a hanging touch in it ; but Greening was for going on with the song , until some others broke in too , and he saw that the company would have none of it . ` Not but what the labourer is worthy of his hire , ' went on Master Ratsey ; ` so spile that little breaker of Schiedam , and send a rummer round to keep off midnight chills . ' He loved a glass of the good liquor well , and with him 't was always the same reasoning , namely , to keep off chills ; though he chopped the words to suit the season , and now 't was autumn , now winter , now spring , or summer chills . They must have found glasses , though I could not remember to have seen any in the vault , for a minute later fugleman Ratsey spoke again -- ` Now , lads , glasses full and bumpers for a toast . And here 's to Blackbeard , to Father Blackbeard , who watches over our treasure better than he did over his own ; for were it not the fear of him that keeps off idle feet and prying eyes , we should have the gaugers in , and our store ransacked twenty times . '