midnight
`` Pull for life and liberty ! '' called Morgan . A great sigh ran along the benches ; dark figures swayed in the faint light ; the splash of oars sounded above the lap of the tide ; the great galley was under way and going seawards . The time was some minutes short of midnight . Panama was asleep . The men rowed slowly , making as little noise as possible until clear of the swarm of canoes and small craft that hung about in the bay . Then they went to work with a will .