nearly two o'clock
On the day before she sailed a proclamation was issued by the queen forbidding any of her subjects to supply De la Marck and his sailors with meat , bread , or beer . The passage down the river was slow , for the winds were contrary , and it was ten days afterwards , the 31st of March , when they entered the broad mouth of the river and dropped anchor off the town of Brill . It was late in the evening when they arrived . In the morning an officer came off to demand the usual papers and documents , and it was not until nearly two o'clock that a boat came out with the necessary permission for the ship to warp up to the wharves and discharge her cargo . Just as Captain Martin was giving the order for the capstan bars to be manned , a fleet of some twenty-four ships suddenly appeared round the seaward point of the land . `` Wait a moment , lads , '' the captain said , `` half an hour will make no great difference in our landing . We may as well wait and see what is the meaning of this fleet .