midnight
Her broadside guns were loaded to the muzzle with grape and musket balls . Every man on board was armed , even as he slept , and her only danger lay in being boarded by an overwhelming number of the enemy , against whom the heavy guns would thus be rendered ineffective . But the night wore on , and he made no sign . The sentry relieved at midnight reported no cause for alarm . The one who went off duty two hours later gave a similar assurance of continued safety . His successor yawned sleepily as he paced to and fro , and shivered with the chill that had crept into the night . A slight mist was rising from the water , and through it even the black outline of the forest was undistinguishable .