midnight
The remainder comprised some hundred acres of sand and rocks , on which were half a dozen cocoanut trees and a few yams . Along the beach we found a large number of turtles ' eggs . The captain , remembering the Rajah 's caution in regard to pirates , decided not to make a light , but we were wet and hungry and overcame his scruples , and soon had a huge fire and a savory repast of coffee , turtles ' eggs , and yams . At midnight it was extinguished , and a watch stationed on top of the plateau . Toward morning I clambered grumblingly up the narrow , almost perpendicular sides of the rift that cut into the rocky watch-tower . I did not believe in pirates and was willing to take my chances in sleep . I paced back and forth , inhaling deep breaths of the rich tropical air ; below me the waves beat in ripples against the rugged beach , casting off from time to time little flashes of phosphorescent light , and mirroring in their depths the hardly distinguishable outline of the Southern Cross .