Sentence:  If the acting captain wanted his acting lieutenant to sit on his ass around the station all night , Killpath would just have to go out and drag Gun back by the heels once an hour ; because he 'd be damned if he was going to be a <WSD>mid-watch</WSD> pencil-pusher just to please his ulcerated pro-tem captain . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a watch during the night (as from midnight to 8 a.m.)