a quarter past seven
Trusting nothing to Frere -- who , indeed , by Pine 's advice , was , as we have seen , kept in ignorance of the whole matter -- Vickers ordered all the men , save those who had been on guard during the day , to be under arms in the barrack , forbade communication with the upper deck , and placed as sentry at the barrack door his own servant , an old soldier , on whose fidelity he could thoroughly rely . He then doubled the guards , took the keys of the prison himself from the non-commissioned officer whose duty it was to keep them , and saw that the howitzer on the lower deck was loaded with grape . It was a quarter to seven when Pine and he took their station at the main hatchway , determined to watch until morning . At a quarter past seven , any curious person looking through the window of Captain Blunt 's cabin would have seen an unusual sight . That gallant commander was sitting on the bed-place , with a glass of rum and water in his hand , and the handsome waiting-maid of Mrs. Vickers was seated on a stool by his side . At a first glance it was perceptible that the captain was very drunk . His grey hair was matted all ways about his reddened face , and he was winking and blinking like an owl in the sunshine .