Eleven o'clock
He was , withal , a cunning old man and knew more than one trick , for , after holding his breath for a while , he would whisper no louder than a mother does when her babe is asleep , and then again , he would begin to snicker slily in a low , snorting way , until , all at once , he broke loose into loud fits of fiendish , hoarse merriment . Added to this head-wind , a heavy sea rolled its huge waves against the prow of the ship and dashed the spray of its breakers up its very sails ; then the strong rain would come down in showers at every gust of wind . The elements seemed , indeed , bent upon overwhelming the poor craft groaning at this ill-treatment . Eleven o'clock having just struck , Uros went below and Milenko got ready to take up his watch . Poor Uros ! he was not only weary and wet to the skin -- for his huge _ kabanica _ , or overcoat , had been of little avail against the pelting rain -- but , worse than that , for the first time in his life he felt home-sick and love-sick . He remembered the pleasant Christmas Eve , the last night but one which he had passed at home .