midnight
I watched the boats as long as they could be seen through the darkness , like some sea-monsters gliding noiselessly towards their prey . O'Driscoll accompanied the shore expedition . On landing , the Indians , who were sent forward , attacked the enemy 's look-out houses , and , having killed a Spaniard and taken two more prisoners , returned in triumph . At midnight the army began their march to the westward , and the ships at the same time weighed and stood along shore . On Sunday morning , the 17th , the ships lay becalmed about a league off shore , when the troops halted to report themselves . No time , however , was lost . They had hoped to have arrived before the place just at daybreak , when they would certainly have surprised it , and even now it was hoped that the enemy would not have heard of their approach .