noon before
But the old hardness of heart was wearing away . I had another proof of this some days later . We were dropping down out of the Bay of Naples . Though we weighed anchor in early morning , it was past noon before we cleared the Bocca di Capri , for there was hardly wind enough to give the _ Petrel _ steerage-way . The smoke from our long Turkish pipes mounted almost straight upward , and lingered over our heads in thin blue curls ; yet the sullen , discontented heave and roll in the water were growing heavier every hour . The black tufa cliffs crested with shattered masonry -- the foundations of the sty where the Boar of Capreæ wallowed -- were just on our starboard quarter , when Riddell , the master , came up to Livingstone . `` I think we 'd better make all snug , sir , '' he said .