about midnight
They asked no questions , for they felt that it did not matter . Any land would do , and if they could escape it would go hard if they did not avoid recapture . They were too much excited to sleep for some time that night , lying listening for the coming of the pilot or for the hoisting of the anchor ; for there was , after all , the possibility of their having anchored till the tide rose sufficiently for them to cross some bar at the mouth of the river . But sleep overcame them at last , and they lay insensible to the fact that about midnight a light was hoisted at the mast-head , which was answered about an hour after by the appearance of another light in the mouth of the river -- a light which gradually crept nearer and nearer till about an hour before dawn , when the boys were awakened by a soft bumping against the lugger 's side , followed by a dull creaking , and then came the hurrying to and fro of feet on the deck overhead . `` Quick , Mike ! '' cried Vince -- `` into your clothes . She 's sinking ! ''