midnight
It might be supposed that Captain Fleetwood would first have gone in search of the speronara , but he considered that by so doing he should lose much valuable time without a prospect of gaining any adequate information ; and he therefore resolved at once to sail to the eastward , touching at Cephalonia , on the chance of learning something to guide his future course . The moment the object of the voyage was known , there was not a man or boy on board who did not zealously enter into it ; and many became almost as eager to fall in with the _ Sea Hawk _ , and to recover the prisoners , if any were still alive , as could have been the commander himself . It was the universal subject of conversation , morning , noon , and night , in the gun-room , the midshipmen 's berth , and at the messes of the petty officers and men . Many a midnight watch was made to pass rapidly away by discussions as to the probabilities of their success , and with yarns of length interminable , about pirates and robberies on the high seas . Far too sacred were held the feelings of the commander to allow any one to allude even to the subject to him ; and though he doubtlessly thought more than any one else about it , he endeavoured to maintain his usual tranquil exterior . It was sad , however , to perceive that anxiety was rapidly thinning his cheek and dimming the lustre of his eye , though it could not quench the fire which would urge him to continue the search as long as life endured . He remained much in his cabin , poring over charts of the Greek Archipelago , and studying all the books he possessed , describing the islands .