About midnight
All ready , Mr. Nelson , '' he continued , as the engineer 's bell rang at this moment . Frank gave the necessary orders , and in a few moments they were again on their way down the river , while the lieutenant walked into the cabin and threw himself on a lounge , heartily wishing there were no gun-boat men in existence . As soon as they were fairly under way , Frank , seeing that the lieutenant took no further notice of what was going on , ran below to set the watch ; then , after satisfying himself that every thing was right about decks , and that their weapons were ready for instant use , he stretched himself on a blanket in the cabin , and with his precious dispatches -LRB- which he had carried with him wherever he went -RRB- for a pillow , was soon fast asleep . About midnight he was suddenly awakened by a terrific crash , and sprang to his feet to find the cabin shrouded in darkness and filled with smoke . Hastily thrusting his dispatches into his pocket , he commenced groping for his side-arms , which , on retiring , he had placed by his side , while a commotion on deck told him that the crew were hurrying to their stations . When he had found his sword , he ran out of the cabin , and saw his men drawn up behind the cotton-bales , under charge of the coxswain , who ran up to his officer and hurriedly asked for orders . The latter did not long remain ignorant of the nature of the attack , for a shell plunged into the cabin which he had just left , and , exploding with a deafening report , filled the air with fragments of furniture , and tore a large hole in the deck above the boilers .