ten
o'clock
From the _ Barracouta _ he somewhat enviously watched Spurling deftly unhook the skate . The remainder of the trawl was pulled in in silence . Percy kept the sloop at a distance that discouraged speech , closing the gap only when Jim signaled that he wished to discharge his cargo . By ten o'clock the last hook was reached , anchor and buoy taken aboard , and the _ Barracouta _ , with two thousand pounds of fish heaped in her kids and towing astern in the dory , headed for Tarpaulin Island . The trip home was a glum one . Two or three times Jim tried to open a conversation , but Percy responded only in monosyllables . He was tired and sleepy , and felt generally out-of-sorts .