nearly midnight
When the captain came on board again , he gave any of us leave to go that chose . I do n't say we were right , but when I found the second mate about to lead a party of our men , Jim and I offered to go with them , and away we pulled for the _ William and Eliza _ . We found her surrounded by boats , carrying well-nigh two hundred men , the whole being under the command of an American captain . We waited till nearly midnight , when the order was given to shove off . We could not tell whether the authorities on shore knew anything of what was about to take place . We carried a number of scaling ladders , with stout ropes and hooks . The first who got up with the ladders were to fix on the hooks , so that the others might swarm up , and we might all mount the walls together .