seven o'clock
Just a fortnight after the action , I was awakened early one morning by a rough shake of the shoulder from Marble , who had the watch , but who was calling me at least an hour before the time . `` Bear a hand and turn out , '' he said ; `` I want you on deck , Mr. Wallingford . '' I obeyed , of course , and soon stood in the presence of the chief-mate , rubbing my eyes diligently , as if they had to be opened by friction . It was just six bells , or seven o'clock , and one of the watch was on the point of making the bell proclaim as much , when Mr. Marble ordered him not to strike the hour . The weather was thick , or rather foggy , and the wind light , with very little sea going . All this I had time to notice , to listen to the unusual order about the bell , and to gape twice , before the male turned to me . He seized my arm , carried me on the lee side of the quarter-deck , shook his finger at a vacant spot in the fog , and said -- `` Miles , my boy , down yonder , within half a mile of this very spot , is our friend the Frenchman ! ''