a quarter to eight
`` We can do nothing but stay where we are , '' I replied . `` No ; '' said Andre `` this is our best refuge ; I hope you are not afraid . '' `` Not for myself , '' said the young girl quietly `` only for those to whom life is precious . '' At a quarter to eight we heard the boatswain calling to the sailors in the bows . `` Ay , ay , sir , '' said one of the men -- O'Ready , I think . `` Where 's the whale boat ? '' shouted the boatswain .