Ten o'clock
`` It is just a quarter past nine . '' `` Well , we will move at ten , '' Joe said . The three-quarters of an hour passed very slowly , and Bob consulted his watch several times , before the minute hand got to twelve . `` Ten o'clock , '' he said , at last . The oars had not been got in , so the boat glided off again , noiselessly , out through the entrance . There were lights burning at the sterns of the two Spanish ships , as a guide to the boat coming off and , when the boat had traversed half the distance , Joe ordered the oars to be unmuffled , and they rowed straight for the barque . There was no hail at their approach , but a man appeared at the top of the ladder .