ten o'clock
Sleep , in anything more than `` cat naps , '' was utterly impracticable , for as soon as the tired officer began to lose himself in slumber , he was thumped violently against the pine boards , or was roused by the fear of being tumbled out of his berth . Mr. Lowington comprehended the situation of the students , and when the topsails and courses had been reefed , he called up all the stewards , and sent them through the after cabin and steerage , to ascertain the condition of the boys , and to give them the benefit of certain expedients known to old voyagers for such occasions . Jacobs , the steward of the after cabin , entered to perform his duty . He had no light , not even a lantern ; for fire is so terrible a calamity at sea , that every lamp was extinguished by the stewards at ten o'clock , and no light was allowed , except in the binnacle , without the special permission of the principal Even the captain could not allow a lamp to be lighted after hours . Jacobs went to all the state rooms on the port side first , and pulled up the berth sacks above the front of the bunks , so as to form a kind of wall , to keep the occupant from rolling out . A bundle of clothing was placed on the inside of the berth , and the body was thus wedged in , so as to afford some relief to the unstable form . Pelham 's room was the second one on the starboard side , and Jacobs came to it at last , in his humane mission .