Mardi Volume 1 Chapter 6 - Eight Bells

In which the placid moon governs the hours and the ship’s crew settles into a gentle rhythm of watchkeeping, their spirits ebbing with the passing of lantern light and the encroaching silence of midnight. It is under this hushed canopy of night and the lax vigilance of men lulled by routine that subtle plans take shape, concealed by the tranquil constancy of the ocean’s tides.