about midnight
she asked , sinking into a chair ; her voice was quiet , she had too often endured affliction not to recognize its messenger at a glance . Mr. Leslie , in his ministration in times of trouble , had learned never to hide or alter the plain truth . `` The morning boat from B ------ has just come in , '' he said . `` The captain reports that the evening boat of the same line , the _ America _ , which left Westerton last night , collided with a schooner off Shoreton about midnight , and sank in ten minutes . The night was very dark , but many of the passengers were picked up by the 'Em pire ' as she came along two hours afterward , some clinging to fragments of the wreck , and some in one of the _ America 's _ small boats . The other boats are missing , but there is hope that they are safe , as the storm was not severe , and the lake is now quite calm . The rescued passengers think that some may have been picked up by a propeller whose lights they saw in the distance . ''