midnight
Assisted by the old steward , who knows , as a Chinese ought , a deal about fireworks , and getting my materials from our signal rockets and Roman candles , I manufactured half a dozen bombs . I do n't really think they are very deadly , and I know our extemporized fuses are slower than our voyage is at the present time ; but nevertheless the bombs have served the purpose , as you shall see . And now to the attempt to rush the poop . It was in Margaret 's watch , from midnight till four in the morning , when the attack was made . Sleeping on the deck by the cabin skylight , I was very close to her when her revolver went off , and continued to go off . My first spring was to the tripping-lines on my illuminators . The igniting and releasing devices worked cleverly .