midnight
Storms contrived this on the plea that his companion , the captain , would be more tractable . His real purpose was to gain a chance to secure the pearls unnoticed . The young man made not the slightest objection to the plan , for he had too good sense to do so ; nor did his silence in that respect lull the suspicions of Storms himself . `` I wish there was not such a bright moon , '' said the mate to himself , not far from midnight , `` for I need all the quiet and darkness I can get ; and I do n't see any use of waiting longer , '' he added . Captain Bergen had been sleeping quietly for several hours , while the silence in the apartment of Inez showed that she , too , was wrapped in slumber , and possibly dreaming of far-away scenes , of which her memory was so misty and indistinct . As to those upon the proa , everything must necessarily be conjecture ; but , in the middle of the night , with his senses on the alert , and his imagination excited , Abe Storms conjured up all sorts of fancies and suspicions . There were many times when he believed that these men , including the boyish leader , were the worst kind of pirates , who were only waiting the chance to secure the pearls , when they would either desert or treacherously slay them .