midnight
You have only yielded to my solicitations , and if we go to our death it is our choosing , and none of thine . '' `` Should the Swan come back without you , Reuben -- as may possibly be , for if there be any danger you are sure to expose yourself in the front of it -- Roger shall be as a son to me ; and shall either in time have a ship to command , and a share in her , as thou hast ; and he shall come in our business , when he has had enough of adventure at sea , and is willing to settle down on land . '' Reuben wrung his cousin 's hand silently , and then said : `` Let us take one more glass of strong water , Diggory , and then get a few hours ' sleep before morning . It is past midnight now , and I must be up by four ; for at that hour the boat must go off for the first batch of our new hands . '' Day broke , just as the last batch of men were brought on board . As soon as these had gone below the whistle was sounded , the old crew came up on deck , and the preparations for making sail commenced . The anchor was hove short , the lashings of the sails were loosened , the flags run up to the mast heads , the last casks and bales lowered into the hold , the hatches put on , and the decks washed down .