one o'clock in the morning
At about ten o'clock , much to the captain 's satisfaction , the lights at the stern of the _ Tiger _ could be much more distinctly seen ; and he judged that she could at that time be only some four miles distant , showing that in the past three hours they had gained some three miles on her , which was good sailing . They were also , at this time , a good mile to the westward of the starboard quarter of the _ Tiger _ , and , if anything , edging a trifle more to starboard of her as they went along . The reason for this was that the captain did not wish to pass the _ Tiger _ at a less distance than a mile ; because , although it certainly was a very dark night , on even the blackest of nights , if the weather be clear , there is always a certain `` loom '' or faint image of a ship thrown against the sky ; and this loom would be visible to sharp eyes unless the _ Elizabeth _ kept some distance away from her consort . Little by little they crept up , overtaking the _ Tiger _ ; and bit by bit her triangle of lights at the stern was becoming merged into one ; then the one light became gradually eclipsed , until at length they could not see it at all , and by one o'clock in the morning they knew that they must be running parallel with the _ Tiger _ and at a distance of about a mile and a half on her starboard beam . It was possible now to make out the light of her battle-lanterns in her interior , shining through her open port-holes , through which the gun muzzles also showed , all in readiness for the attack as soon as the pirate was brought to bay . As they opened her up , and came abreast of her , they could see that she was lit up fore-and-aft , and it became perfectly clear that not only was she cleared for action , but that her captain had given orders to his men to sleep at their quarters , and thus be ready for the fight at a moment 's notice . Having overtaken the _ Tiger _ , the _ Elizabeth _ began to draw ahead perceptibly , and the brilliantly lighted interior of her consort was soon eclipsed , while the bright triangle of lights at the stern of the _ Good Adventure _ now showed up clearly about two and a half miles distant , broad on the port bow .