noon
In accordance with Wilbur 's orders , Charlie was carried aboard the dory ; which , with two Chinamen at the oars , and the ambergris stowed again into the cuddy , at once set off for the schooner . Wilbur himself cut the ropes on the two prisoners , and bade them shift for themselves . The rest of the party returned to the `` Bertha Millner '' around the wide sweep of the beach . It was only by high noon , under the flogging of a merciless sun , that the entire crew of the little schooner once more reassembled under the shadow of her stranded hulk . They were quite worn out ; and as soon as Charlie was lifted aboard , and the ambergris -- or , as they spoke of it now , the `` loot '' -- was safely stowed in the cabin , Wilbur allowed the Chinamen three or four hours ' rest . They had had neither breakfast nor dinner ; but their exhaustion was greater than their hunger , and in a few moments the entire half-dozen were stretched out asleep on the forward deck in the shadow of the foresail raised for the purpose of sheltering them . However , Wilbur and Moran sought out Hoang , whom they found as they had left him -- bound upon the floor of the cabin .