Three o'clock
But the women could not restrain some manifestation of their impatience . Why did not the vessel start ? Why were they to be delayed Then the captain made known to them that the time for starting had not yet come . Three o'clock on that day was the time fixed for starting . As the slow moments wore themselves away , the women trembled , huddled together on the poop of the vessel ; while Crinkett , never letting the pipe out of his mouth , stood leaning against the taffrail , looking towards the port , gazing across the waters to see whether anything was coming towards the ship which might bode evil to his journey . Then there came the bustle preparatory to starting , and Crinkett thought that he was free , at any rate , for that journey . But such bustle spreads itself over many minutes .