midnight
The time was about half an hour , or thereabouts , after midnight , and our position was about sixty miles south-east of Beata Point , the southernmost point on the mainland of Saint Domingo . The day had been fine , with a very nice pleasant working breeze , but as the sun had declined toward the horizon the wind had shown signs of dropping , gradually dying away after sunset , until toward the end of the first watch it had fallen so completely calm that we had furled all our canvas to save wear and tear , and were , at the time mentioned , lying under bare poles , slowly drifting with the current to the westward . The night was pitch-dark , for there was no moon , and with the dying away of the wind a great bank of heavy thunderous-looking cloud had gradually worked up from the westward , imperceptibly expanding until it had at length obscured the entire firmament , promising a thunder-storm which would doubtless be all the heavier when it broke from the length of time which it took in the brewing . I had remained on deck until midnight ; but observing , when the middle watch was called , that the barometer had dropped only the merest trifle , had gone below upon the deck being relieved , and , leaving orders with young Boyne to call me in the event of any change in the weather , had flung myself , half undressed , into my cot , hoping to get a nap before the storm broke , and feeling pretty confident that when it did nothing very serious could happen , the schooner being under bare poles . But somehow I could not get to sleep , probably on account of the oppressive closeness of the atmosphere , for it was stiflingly hot , although the skylights and companion were wide open ; and there I lay , tossing restlessly from side to side in a state of preternatural wakefulness , listening to the lap and gurgle of the water against the ship 's side , the creaking of the bulk-heads , the rattling of the hooks which held the cabin doors wide open , the _ yerking _ of the main-sheet blocks , the _ jerk-jerk _ of the rudder and of the lashed wheel above it , with the swish of the water under the counter and about the stern-post as the vessel rolled lazily upon the long sluggish swell which came creeping slowly up from the eastward . And if by chance a momentary feeling of drowsiness happened to steal over me , which , carefully fostered , might have eventually led to my falling asleep , it was sure to be put to flight by some ill-timed movement or speech by those on the deck above me , although I will do them the justice to say that , so far as speech was concerned , they spoke but seldom , and then in subdued tones . At length , however , I was going off , the varied sounds I have mentioned had lost their distinctness , had changed their character , and were beginning to merge themselves into the accompaniments of what , a few minutes later , would have been a dream , when I heard Pottle 's voice exclaim with startling suddenness : `` Hillo !