twelve o'clock
The wind was still blowing fiercely , but a rift in the clouds above , through , which the sun threw down a bright ray of light upon the tossing water , showed that the gale was breaking . The excitement of the scene , the difficulty of keeping their feet , and the influence of the rushing wind , soon had the effect which their father predicted . The boys ' looks brightened , their courage returned ; and although they still had an occasional relapse of sickness , they felt quite different beings , and would not have returned to the blank misery of their cabins upon any consideration . They were soon able to eat a piece of dry toast , which Mr. Hardy brought them up with a cup of tea at breakfast-time , and to enjoy a basin of soup at twelve o'clock , after which they pronounced themselves as cured . By the afternoon the force of the wind had greatly abated , and although a heavy sea still ran , the motion of the vessel was perceptibly easier . The sun , too , shone out brightly and cheeringly , and Mr. Hardy was able to bring the little girls , who had not suffered so severely as their brothers , upon deck . Two more days of fine weather quite recruited all the party ; and great was their enjoyment as the Barbadoes entered the Tagus , and , steaming between its picturesque banks and past Cintra , dropped her anchor off Lisbon .