about four in the morning
It was in truth to the storm that the Mexicans owed their present security . Few in numbers , and ignorant of the locality in which they had landed , an attack by the troops of the garrison might have proved fatal to them . Thanks to the tempestuous character of the night , they had not only found an opportunity of debarking on the isle , but time to mature their plans for assaulting the fort . It was now about four in the morning , and the wind , still blowing with all its fury , was causing the large waves to roll up against the beach , threatening to break the cables by which the barges were moored to the shore . Don Cornelio cast glances of fear upon that mighty ocean that , but a few hours before , had come so near engulfing him within its dark depths . While he sat with his face turned seaward , his eye fell upon the figure of a man who was passing from the spot where the groups were scattered downward to the beach . This man having approached the place where the barges were moored , for some moments appeared to be occupied with them , as if looking to their security .