noon
Numbers of persons were killed by the explosion , others were dreadfully mutilated , and scarcely a scrap of the old woman herself could be discovered . I felt grateful to Heaven that my dear wife and uncle had escaped . Had they come on with me , we should have been close to the spot and among the sufferers . I could not go back , though Jerry wanted to do so , as I had to be on board by noon , and there were but a few minutes to get alongside the ship . I reported myself to the first lieutenant as having come on board . `` Very well , '' he said , and just then it struck eight bells . I had not been long on board when I heard it reported that the _ Nymph _ was to go into dock , and that the crew would be turned over to other ships wanting hands .