two minutes to five a.m.
It must surely be nearing two bells . '' `` Ay , ay , sir ! '' I dutifully answered ; and , moving aft to the skylight , raised the canvas cover which had been placed over it to mask the light of the low-turned lamp which was kept burning all night in the fore cabin , and glanced at the clock which , screwed to the coaming on one side of the tell-tale compass , balanced the barometer which , hung in gimbals , was suspended on the other side . The clock marked the time as two minutes to five a.m. , or within two minutes of two bells in the morning watch . Dropping the canvas screen back into place , I was about to announce the time to my superior officer , when I thought I caught , through the faint creak of the ship 's timbers and the light rustling of the canvas aloft , a slight , far off sound , like the squeak of a sheave on a rusty pin . Therefore , instead of proclaiming the time aloud , I stepped quietly to the side of the first luff , and asked , almost in a whisper -- `` Did you hear anything just then , sir ? '' `` Hear anything ? ''