three o'clock in the morning
`` That 's our goal , then , '' said the officer ; `` that 's La Guayra ! And now to find out whether there is anything in there that it may be worth our while to attack . '' He then made the signal for the other two boats to close , to give the officers in command an opportunity for a final consultation . It was presently arranged that , on entering the bay , they were to separate , and each was to scour a certain part of the harbour , and join the others again at three o'clock in the morning at the spot where they parted company , the bearings of which were to be carefully and accurately taken . La Guayra lies in the hollow of an extensive but open roadstead , and is built at the foot of a range of huge mountains , which tower up into the clouds behind it , and at the back of which lies Caracas , now the capital of Venezuela . It was to the extremity of this roadstead that the three boats had now come , and the twinkling lights of the town were clearly discernible at some distance . Anxiously they scanned the bay for any sign of ships lying there , and after a few moments they were able to make out certain detached sparks of light , which they felt certain were the riding-lights of a number of vessels .