a quarter to seven
A number of men who had partaken too freely of tropical fruits manned the rail and seemed too much interested in the seething water below to notice the rain that was dripping down their necks . For a time , things were very lively aboard the old hooker , and , though in the main unpleasant , the grandeur of the sea in the tempest made up for all discomforts . The flash of the lightning , the roar of the thunder , the hum and whistle of the wind through the rigging , and the swish of the seas as they dashed themselves to spray against the sides of the ship -- all this made an impressive chorus , more stirring even than the roar of cannon and the shriek of shell . When `` hammocks '' was blown by the ship 's bugler at a quarter to seven , we found it difficult to make our way forward to the nettings . One moment we were toiling up the deck 's steep incline ; the next , the ship would bury her prow , and we were rushing forward pell mell . The boat seemed to be endowed with diabolical intelligence that night . A man might , perchance , stoop to tie his shoe or examine a freshly stubbed toe , when the ship would seem to divine that she had him at a disadvantage , and would leap forward so that he would immediately stand on his head , or affectionately and firmly embrace a convenient stanchion .