about midday
Desmond only smiled . If the sound was heard from the forts , it would be regarded merely as a sign that the preparations for sinking the vessel were not yet completed . Time passed on , and ever and anon Desmond looked eagerly down the river for a sign of the oncoming fleet . At last , somewhere about midday , he observed signs of excitement in Tanna Fort , and almost simultaneously saw a puff of smoke and heard a report from one of its guns . Shortly afterwards he observed the spars of a British-built ship slowly approaching upstream . In full confidence that the scheme for blocking the river was now frustrated , he awaited with patience the oncoming of the fleet , wondering whether the forts would make a determined resistance . Slowly the vessel drew nearer .