ten
o'clock
He was barely satisfactory at the semi-annual examinations . One night early in February , after taps inspection , and after the midshipmen in charge of floors had been sent to their rooms , the door of Bligh 's room opened and that young man 's head cautiously appeared . Looking up and down the corridor , and seeing the midshipmen in charge were not at their desks , Bligh left his room and walked to the end of the corridor for a glass of water . This act was inoffensive in itself , except that midshipmen are required to attend to such matters before ten o'clock or wait until after eleven ; it was not yet eleven and naturally Bligh did not wish to be seen . While drinking the water Bligh heard some steps on the stairway leading to the next upper floor , and fearing it might be the officer-in-charge he quickly slipped into a dark corner at the side of the stairway , hoping he would not be noticed ; in a moment a figure passed a few feet from him , and to his surprise he saw it was Third Classman Blunt . `` Now , what 's that fellow up to ? '' reflected Bligh , his mind full of the injuries he imagined he had received from Harry Blunt .