A round-the-clock guard is set up. The three officers (the captain and the two mates) take turns sleeping inside the bullion compartment itself, locked in with the gold, while the petty officers keep watch, pacing around the bullion compartment twenty-four hours a day. The guard inside the room is woken every hour to confirm that the chests are all there. When it is time for the narrator to stand guard, he awakens groggily to discover that a number of chests are missing, but believes that he must be dreaming. When he awakens, the chests are all in place. Shortly thereafter, the first mate actually dies during his watch, again of no apparent cause. No explanation can be found, although the strange whispering is heard again.