midnight
But our stay at Burwick was not for long , as we had lost much time in the outer sea , and the skipper wanted to get round to St. Margaret 's Hope . No sooner had we put a boatload of goods ashore than we set sail again . And now that we were in smoother water , I was not allowed to shirk my watch , but had to spend the better part of the night on deck . A little after midnight we were sailing under easy sail through the dark Sound of Hoxa . I was at the helm , the mate walking the deck in front of me . The night was extremely cold , and some light flakes of snow were falling . I had difficulty in making out the points of land as we passed , but Jerry was at the bow , and I depended upon him and Peter for my steering .