midnight
The nights , to favour our enterprise , had been very dark , so that we might hope to pick out several , provided no noise was made , without being discovered . We waited anxiously for night to put our enterprise into execution ; and as the sun set , we crowded all sail to come up with the convoy . Few vessels could surpass the schooner in her sailing qualities , which made her peculiarly fitted for the sort of work she was employed in . By midnight , we made out on our starboard-bow several sail , which we had no doubt were some of the sternmost vessels of the French convoy ; so we stood towards them without hesitation . If any of the Frenchmen caught sight of the privateer , they probably took her for one of their own fleet . Slowly , their dark , misty-like forms glided by , while we watched them with eager eyes , wondering which the captain would select as our first victim . At last came a large brig. She was somewhat high out of the water , and her main-topgallant-mast had been carried away .