two o'clock
Captain Coe let him have his say , and then he leaned over the ship 's side , holding to the starboard shrouds with one hand and taking the cigar out of his mouth with the other , and told him , with a most deliberate spit , as how he was going on with one every hour till Mrs. Tweedie was brought back safe and sound , and when he used up them he had aboard , how he was going to land for more . He did n't speak it particular loud , and you might have thought he was talking what a hot day it was ; but there was that in his voice I 've never heard before or since , and you knew he 'd live right up to every word he said . I guess the pastor and the student understood a little English , for when Coe finished they laid on to their oars like mad , and headed the old sieve for shore again , Tweedie in the bilge and still protesting . At two o'clock we turned off Sosofina , Afiola 's aunt . We now had three aloft , and as we rolled gently broadside on to the swell they 'd swing together and swing apart till you did n't care to look at them . That hour from two to three was the very longest I ever spent in my life . It was the hottest time of day and the sun beat down unmerciful , the pitch running in the seams , and the awnings being stripped off to better fight the ship , if need be .