about midnight
Adair , of course , told him not to go on to the hill , adding , `` We must get another flag-staff ready to set up as soon as the gale is over , '' and he at once issued orders to the carpenter to prepare it . When night closed in there was no appearance of a cessation of the gale ; indeed , if anything , matters looked worse than they had done all day . At the usual hour all hands turned in to obtain the rest they required , while the men on watch stowed themselves away in the most sheltered corners they could find , for not a human being even during four hours could have stood exposed to the pitiless tempest . It was about midnight when those nearest the water were aroused by a crashing sound , and before they had time to dress themselves , they found the sea washing right up to their huts , far higher than it had done the day before . Adair , who slept lightly , was also awakened by the voices and the shouts of the men as they rushed with their clothes bags and mess things out of their huts . He and Saint Maur hurried down to ascertain what was the matter , when on looking towards the beach where the large boat had been left , on which their hopes of safety depended , she was nowhere to be seen . A mass of timber and shattered fragments , surrounded by the seething water , alone marked the spot .