midnight
Blythe and I agreed that this probably meant an attack after darkness had fallen . Fortified by the courage which comes from whisky , they would try and slip up on us in the night and win by a surprise . The captain and I were in the wheelhouse when the attack came . It must have been an hour past midnight of a gentle starry night , without the faintest breath of wind in the air . Ever since dark the vibration of the propeller had ceased . No doubt the charge was intended for a surprise , but we had half a minute of warning . Dimly I could make out figures moving tiptoe at the head of the stairway .