thirty minutes past nine
He pointed with his finger at the decks of the battleships , where hundreds of snow-white figures had gone to quarters . `` It 's church service , '' he said , `` or it 's general inspection . '' Channing looked at his watch . It was thirty minutes past nine . `` It 's church service , '' he said . `` I can see them carrying out the chaplain 's reading-desk on the Indiana . '' The press-boat pushed her way nearer into the circle of battleships until their leaden-hued hulls towered high above her .