six in the morning
Most of the time , as at present , it had been clear , with a stiff wind and a moderately high sea . His vessel was bound for New York with a cargo of oranges , wine , oil , and cheese from Fayal in the Azores , to which it had carried a load of agricultural implements from Hamburg . Frederick and Wilhelm could give little information concerning the cause of the accident . Wilhelm said that shortly before six in the morning , he had been awakened by a sound like the clang of a gong . In his half-waking state , he thought it was the signal to dinner , until he remembered that on the _ Roland _ a trumpet blast was used to announce meals . Frederick thought the _ Roland _ had probably struck a wreck or a rock . But rocks , the captain said , were out of the question .