eight o'clock
And that 's all there is of it . '' The gray of early day was beginning to show in the east when Blackbeard and the New York captain came down to the landing together . The New York captain swayed and toppled this way and that as he walked , now falling against Blackbeard , and now staggering away from him . Early in the morning -- perhaps eight o'clock -- Lieutenant Maynard sent a boat from the schooner over to the settlement , which lay some four or five miles distant . A number of men stood lounging on the landing , watching the approach of the boat . The men rowed close up to the wharf , and there lay upon their oars , while the boatswain of the schooner , who was in command of the boat , stood up and asked if there was any man there who could pilot them over the shoals . Nobody answered , but all stared stupidly at him .