midnight
It was a dim starry night , and the _ Elsinore _ , in the calm ocean under the lee of Tierra del Fuego , was slipping gently and prettily through the water at an eight - knot clip . Mr. Pike paused at the for ` ard end of the housetop and stood in a listening attitude . From the main deck below , near Number Two hatch , across the mumbling of various voices , I could recognize Kid Twist , Nosey Murphy , and Bert Rhine -- the three gangsters . But Steve Roberts , the cow - boy , was also there , as was Mr. Mellaire , both of whom belonged in the other watch and should have been turned in ; for , at midnight , it would be their watch on deck . Especially wrong was Mr. Mellaire 's presence , holding social converse with members of the crew -- a breach of ship ethics most grievous . I have always been cursed with curiosity . Always have I wanted to know ; and , on the _ Elsinore _ , I have already witnessed many a little scene that was a clean-cut dramatic gem .