midnight
And once seen it will , according to the Captain 's own account , be impossible for us to force our way into the harbour unless the guns in those forts be first spiked . Now , gentles , I am the youngest of you all , but I have been inside and seen the place . Moreover , I have been privileged to discuss with the Captain this very question of taking the ship up to the town , from which discussion arose my determination to make that chart ; and my advice is , that we defer our attempt until to-morrow night , and that in the meantime I be permitted to return in the longboat to our former hiding-place , provided with hammers and nails for the spiking of the guns and such other necessaries as I may require , together with a crew of six of our best men . We can get back to our place of concealment before daylight , and there remain in hiding until midnight or later , when we will sally forth , steal into those two forts , overpower and gag the sentinels , and spike the guns , after which we will signal the ship by the burning of portfires where they can not be seen from the town , when you will sail in , I meeting you outside and piloting you in . We can then land a party , destroy both batteries by blowing them up , capture the galleon and the town , and sail out to sea again , unscathed , when we have finished our business with the Spaniards . '' `` Thy plan sounds promising , young sir , '' answered Bascomb presently , after considering the matter a little ; `` but there is one weak point in it , which is this . If , as you seem to think , the Spaniards have taken our Captain , and thereby are led to suspect the presence of an English ship in the neighbourhood ; and , suspecting such presence , should warn the garrisons of those two forts to be on the lookout for her -- all of which I grant to be more than likely -- what hope have you of being able to surprise those forts and spike their guns ? ''