midnight
Is that fair ? '' McGuffey said it was , and went below to tune up his engine . Mr. Gibney took the wheel of the gunboat , and sent Captain Scraggs back aboard the _ Maggie _ , and in a few minutes both vessels were bowling along toward Descanso Bay . They were off the bay at midnight , and while with Mr. Gibney in command of the federal gunboat Captain Scraggs had nothing to fear , the rapid rise of water in the hold of the _ Maggie _ was sadly disconcerting . About daylight he made up his mind that she would sink within two hours , and without pausing to whine over his predicament , he promptly beached her . She drove far up the beach , with the slack water breaking around her scarred stern , and when the tide ebbed she lay high and dry . And the rebel soldiers came trooping down from the Megano rancho and falling upon her carcass like so many ants , quickly distributed her cargo amongst them , and disappeared .