midnight
And here my conscience pricked me a little , for I had already had experience of a voyage in an open boat , and knew what it meant . On the other hand , however , my life was at stake ; for it had by this time become perfectly apparent to me that unless I could raise the sum of ten thousand pounds demanded by Dominguez -- which was a simple impossibility -- that individual would most certainly deliver me over to Morillo ; in which case there was every reason to believe that I should die a cruel and lingering death of torment -- which I considered myself quite justified in avoiding by every means in my power . Moreover , we were not very far from the land . The Roccas were only some twenty-five miles away , at the utmost , and could easily be reached by Dominguez before midnight ; and the weather was fine , and the water smooth . The voyage of the dinghy was therefore not likely to be of a very adventurous or dangerous character ; so that , by taking possession of the felucca and turning the Spaniard and his companions adrift , I should only be inflicting upon them a very mild punishment for their unlawful seizure of my person , especially when the cruel object of that seizure came to be taken into consideration . I would not leave them , however , wholly without provisions and water , if I could help it . My first thought , therefore , was how I might be able to convey to them a small supply of each without affording them an opportunity to regain possession of the felucca ; and after a few minutes ' deliberation I thought I could see a way by which this might be accomplished .