nine minutes after ten o'clock
Captain Snipes is aboard that ship ! '' Sukey 's face was deathly white , and his fingers convulsively clutched the air as if grasping at an imaginary throat . Fernando was standing on the parapet , when a wreath of smoke curled up from the ship 's side , followed by the boom of a heavy gun , and a ball came whizzing through the air , and struck the breastwork . It was nine minutes after ten o'clock when the first shot was fired . This shot was the signal for a broadside , and a shower of balls with three or four shells came screaming through the air striking the walls of the fort , or exploding over it . One of the shells buried itself in the sand but a few feet from Fernando , and burst , scattering sand and gravel over him . `` Fire ! ''