six o'clock
I was not aware then that it was day , but it was , and hour after hour passed and no one came . I began to suffer again from hunger and thirst , for I had not preserved either bite or sup . As soon as I awoke I felt that the ship was in motion again , after having , I calculated , remained stationary since the previous day -- no doubt in some lonely creek , since I had not heard or felt her come to anchor . A few minutes ago -- it must therefore have been six o'clock -- I again heard footsteps on the other side of the iron wall of my compartment . Was anybody coming to my cell ? Yes , for I heard the creaking of the bolts as they were drawn back , and then the door opened , and the darkness in which I had been plunged since the first hour of my captivity was illumined by the light of a lantern . Two men , whom I had no time to look at , entered and seized me by the arms .