midnight
The crew had recovered from their sickness , but there was nothing for them to do , and as orientals they were quite content to do nothing . Only the Babu remained off duty , in addition to the watch below . Desmond visited him , and persuaded him to take some food ; but nothing would induce him to come on deck ; the mere sight of the sea , he said , would externalize his interior . It was Desmond 's trick at the wheel between eight and midnight . Gulam Abdullah was on the lookout ; the rest of the crew were forward squatting on the deck in a circle around Fuzl Khan . Desmond , thinking of other things , heard dully , as from a great distance , the drone of the Gujarati 's voice . He was talking more freely and continuously than was usual with him ; ordinarily his manner was morose ; he was a man of few words , and those not too carefully chosen .