eleven o'clock in the morning
He had no intention of shivering around in the cold . He was going to make this voyage , which had been thrust upon him , as pleasant for himself as circumstances would permit . He pleaded sickness , and , as Charley had complained to Barney MacFarland , lay in his bunk reading novels , or sat in the smoking room playing checkers with the mail boat doctor , while Charley was left to his own resources . It was eleven o'clock in the morning when the mail boat departed from Pinch-In Tickle . Mr. Wise was engrossed in a particularly interesting novel , and was so deeply buried in it that he failed to hear or respond to the noonday call to dinner . When , an hour later , hunger called his attention to the fact that he had not eaten , he rang for the steward , and a liberal tip brought a satisfactory luncheon to his stateroom . Thus it came to pass that he did not observe Charley 's absence from the dinner table .