nearly ten o'clock
Merton , who had volunteered , was in one of the other boats , under the command of one of the master 's mates of the frigate , and Charley Iffley was with him . When all was ready , the signal was given , and with three hearty cheers we shoved off from the frigate 's side . We acted as a sort of whipper-in to the other boats , and we kept pulling about among them to keep them together , our lieutenant dropping a word to one and then to another , just to make the people laugh and to keep them in good spirits . It was some hours after dark , and nearly ten o'clock , as we approached the harbour of Santa Cruz . We then had all our oars muffled , and in perfect silence we entered the harbour , all keeping close together . As we got well in we lay on our oars for a minute , to make sure which were the two ships to be attacked . We made them out through the darkness .