six o'clock
The chronometer of God never errs ! '' There was deep , thoughtful silence for some moments . Then the grave , pale young man said : `` What is the chronometer of God ? '' At dinner , six o'clock , the same people assembled whom we had talked with on deck and seen at luncheon and breakfast this second day out , and at dinner the evening before . That is to say , three journeying ship-masters , a Boston merchant , and a returning Bermudian who had been absent from his Bermuda thirteen years ; these sat on the starboard side . On the port side sat the Reverend in the seat of honor ; the pale young man next to him ; I next ; next to me an aged Bermudian , returning to his sunny islands after an absence of twenty-seven years . Of course , our captain was at the head of the table , the purser at the foot of it .