three o'clock in the morning
And may God go with you ! Amen . '' Half an hour later the longboat , under Dick 's command , and with Stukely sitting in the stern-sheets beside him , was once more under way and beating in toward the land under a press of sail , while the _ Adventure _ , with all lights out , lay to in the offing , awaiting the signal of the explosion of the ordnance in the forts to fill away and stand boldly in toward the harbour . So sorely were they pressed for time that Dick dared not waste any in the attempt to elude observation by creeping in , as on the first occasion , behind the island of Baru ; he headed as straight as the wind would allow for the Boca Chica , trusting that he might be fortunate enough to slip through unobserved in the darkness , especially as it was now past three o'clock in the morning -- and if the sentinels slept at all at their posts , after the warning to hold themselves on the alert which they might be supposed to have received from the authorities , they might be expected to be asleep now . His hope appeared to be justified ; for the longboat slid past the smaller battery down on the beach , unchallenged , and some five minutes later , grounded on the sand about a quarter of a mile farther in . Then , silently as ghosts , the men lowered the sails , leaving the masts standing , and stepped out on the sand , each bearing his appointed load of powder upon his shoulder , while Dick and Stukely , with swords drawn , and the former carrying a coil of quick match wound round his waist , led the way . They directed their steps southward toward the battery which they had sailed past a few minutes earlier , and which could just be distinguished as a darker blur against the blackness of the night .