ten a.m.
Every little wave that came along swept clean over our heads , sometimes coming so suddenly as to cut a breath in half . If the wind should increase -- but no -- I would n't face the possibility of such a disagreeable thing . I was cool enough now in a double sense , for although we were in the tropics , we soon got thoroughly chilled . By the position of the sun it must have been between ten a.m. and noon , and we , of the crew , had eaten nothing since the previous day at supper , when , as usual , the meal was very light . Therefore , I suppose we felt the chill sooner than the better-nourished mate and harpooner , who looked rather scornfully at our blue faces and chattering teeth . In spite of all assurances to the contrary , I have not the least doubt in my own mind that a very little longer would have relieved us of ALL our burdens finally . Because the heave of the sea had so loosened the shattered planks upon which we stood that they were on the verge of falling all asunder .