nine o'clock
`` Here , as you will see , '' he continued , `` is a sugar mill belonging to the Alvarez plantations . Ten miles to the eastward of the Alvarez mill is the Perdita mill ; ten miles to the westward of the Alvarez mill is the Acunda mill . To-night there will be no moon . At nine o'clock we shall lie to off the Alvarez mill , and three sixty-foot launches will be lowered to the water . Lieutenant Cantor will command one of these launches , Ensign Darrin another and Ensign Dalzell the third . Each launch will carry one automatic gun , and a landing party of a corporal , six marines , a petty officer and twelve seamen . Each party will be armed , but , gentlemen , I must caution you as to the extreme seriousness of any conflict on shore , or of firing , even though your fire is not directed at human beings .