10 p.m
`` Certainly , sir , certainly ! '' answered Lieutenant Bronsfield amiably . The captain of the Susquehanna , a worthy man if ever there was one , the very humble servant of his officers , went to his cabin , took his brandy-and-water with many expressions of satisfaction to the steward , got into bed , not before complimenting his servant on the way he made beds , and sank into peaceful slumber . It was then 10 p.m. . The eleventh day of the month of December was going to end in a magnificent night . The Susquehanna , a corvette of 500 horse power , of the United States Navy , was taking soundings in the Pacific at about a hundred leagues from the American coast , abreast of that long peninsula on the coast of New Mexico . The wind had gradually fallen .