six o'clock
They rowed past the side of a huge English steamer , which sent back the splash of the oars in a strange hollow echo , and then across to the _ Monadnock _ . Harryman could not sleep , and joined the officer on duty on the bridge , where the slight breeze which came from the mountains afforded a little coolness . * * * * * On board the _ Mindoro _ Parrington had found orders to take the relief guard for the wireless telegraph station to Mariveles the next morning . At six o'clock the little gunboat had taken the men on board , and was now steering across the blue Bay of Manila toward the little rocky island of Corregidor , which had recently been strongly fortified , and which lies like a block of stone between gigantic mountain wings in the very middle of the entrance to the Bay of Manila . Under a gray sail , which served as a slight protection from the sun , the soldiers squatted sullenly on their kits . Some were asleep , others stared over the railing into the blue , transparent water that rippled away in long waves before the bow of the little vessel . From the open skylight of the engine room sounded the sharp beat of the engine , and the smell of hot oil spread over the deck , making the burning heat even more unbearable .