twenty minutes past seven
They had located it as near the foot of the cliff as possible and , although the smoke made itself disagreeable by billowing out in their faces , it was thereby somewhat sheltered from the elements . Steve and Joe made three trips and brought back frying-pan , coffee-pot and smaller utensils , as well as provisions , and a half-hour later they were beginning a supplementary breakfast of bacon and coffee . And if anything in all the wide world , from the time of Noah to that of the Adventure Club , ever tasted sublime to a shipwrecked mariner it was that same bacon and coffee ! When they had finished , Phil 's watch -- the only one of six which had neither run down for lack of winding or been incapacitated by immersion in salt water -- gave the hour as twenty minutes past seven . Comforted by food and drink , they warmed themselves at the fire and waited for the tide to recede far enough to allow a survey of the _ Adventurer _ . The comfort was too much for Perry and he fell asleep with his feet almost in the embers and his head on a rock and slumbered emphatically . At last the line of breakers was well astern of the cruiser and the boys , leaving their stockings to dry by the fire and rolling their trousers up , began their investigation .