midnight
The dispute at length grew so warm that Stukely , who was present but took no part in it , suggested that the matter should be left for Captain Marshall to decide , upon his return . The afternoon of that day was busily spent by the English , one party of whom , under the joint leadership of the carpenter and boatswain , devoted themselves to the task of repairing the slight damage sustained by the _ Adventure _ in running aboard the galleon , while the remainder engaged in the work of thoroughly rummaging the prize and transferring from her to the _ Adventure _ all the valuables they could find . At first some fear was entertained that the treasure which it was intended the ship should take home had not yet been put on board , for it could be found nowhere ; but at length a sort of strong room was discovered , cunningly built in the run of the ship , its entrance hidden by a big pile of sails ; and when this was entered , there , sure enough , lay the treasure , consisting of no less than five hundred gold bricks , each weighing some forty pounds ; two thousand bars of silver averaging about fifty pounds each , a chest of pearls the value of which was so great that they made no attempt even to estimate it approximately ; and a small chest of uncut precious stones , chiefly emeralds and rubies , which of itself would have sufficed to make every man of them rich for life . The whole of this stupendous treasure they at once proceeded to transfer to the _ Adventure _ ; and so much of it was there that , working watch and watch , one watch mounting guard to render impossible anything in the nature of a surprise attack from the shore , while the other watch carried the treasure from the one ship to the other , it was long past midnight when at length the work was done and the weary men were permitted to snatch a little rest . The authorities ashore had been given until sunrise of the following morning in which to find someone capable of interpreting Bascomb 's letter , and to come to a decision as to whether or not they would accede to the terms of the said letter ; and the first light of dawn revealed a large boat putting off from the shore , pulled by twelve oarsmen , and flying a white flag at the stern . This was the first boat that had attempted to approach either of the ships since the appearance of the _ Adventure _ upon the scene , and her approach was watched with the utmost interest and curiosity . She carried three officials in brilliant uniforms and four other individuals in her stern-sheets , but it was Stukely 's keen eyes which were the first to detect the fact that Captain Marshall was not in her ; and his announcement of this fact at once raised a storm of indignation among those who had hastily turned out and gone on deck when the approach of the boat had been reported .