eight o'clock
In the course of a few hours of active toil , he had secured all the yards , the sails , the standing and running rigging , the boats , and many of the minor articles of the Dane ; and nothing of essential importance remained , but the three lower masts . These , it is true , were all in all to him , for without them he would be but little better off than he was before , since his own ship had spare canvas and spare yards enough to make a respectable show above the foundation . This foundation , however , was the great requisite , and his principal motive in taking the other things , was to have a better fit than could be obtained by using spars and sails that were not intended to go together . At eight o'clock , the people got their suppers , and prepared to turn in for the night . Some conversation passed between Captain Truck and his mates , concerning the manner of disposing of the men while they slept , which resulted in the former 's keeping a well-armed party of ten with him in the ship , while the remainder were put in the boats , all of which were fastened to the launch , as she lay anchored off the bar . Here they made beds of the sails , and , setting a watch , the greater portion of both gangs were soon as quietly asleep as if lying in their own berths on board the Montauk . Not so with Captain Truck and his mates .