noon
On the 23rd of December , at 8 a.m. , after a rapid passage , the Susquehanna ought to be on the scene of the disaster . They were obliged to wait till twelve o'clock to take their exact bearings . The buoy fastened on to the sounding-line had not yet been seen . At noon Captain Blomsberry , helped by his officers , who controlled the observation , made his point in presence of the delegates of the Gun Club . That was an anxious moment . The Susquehanna was found to be at some minutes west of the very spot where the projectile had disappeared under the waves . The direction of the corvette was therefore given in view of reaching the precise spot .