one o'clock
in the morning
The creaking and groaning of the timbers , stanchions , and bulkheads , as the strain the vessel was undergoing was felt , served to drown the groans of the dying man as he tossed uneasily in his bunk . The working of the foremast against the deck beams caused a shower of flaky powder to fall , and sent another sound mingling with the tumultuous storm . Small cascades of water streamed from the pall bits from the fo ` castle head above , and , joining issue with the streams from the wet oilskins , ran along the floor and disappeared aft into the main hold . At two bells in the middle watch -- that is , in land parlance one o'clock in the morning ; -- the order was roared out on the fo ` castle : `` All hands on deck and shorten sail ! '' Then the sleepy sailors tumbled out of their bunk and into their clothes , oilskins and sea-boots and up on deck . 'T is when that order comes on cold , blustering nights that `` Jack '' grimly mutters : `` Who would not sell a farm and go to sea ? '' It was on deck that the force of the wind could be fully appreciated , especially after leaving the stifling fo ` castle .