five in the morning
`` That 's what you called 'em . ... It took us a whole day to work past the tides of the Start . Then , about sunset , a light draught off the land helped us to Bolt Tail , and after that we mostly drifted all night , with here and there a cat 's - paw , down across Bigbury Bay . By five in the morning we were inside the Eddystone , with Plymouth Sound open , and by twelve noon we was just in the very same place . It was Christmas Eve , sir . `` I looked at Daniel 's face , and then a notion struck me . It was foolish I had n't thought of it before . ''