midnight
I could see that Mendouca was pretty thoroughly ashamed of himself , for despite his utmost efforts , there was a perceptible shrinking and embarrassment of manner apparent in him during the progress of the meal . Nevertheless , he exerted himself manfully to obliterate the exceedingly disagreeable impression that he knew had been made upon me by his late conduct ; and it was evident that he was sincerely desirous of re-establishing friendly relations between us , whether from any selfish motive or not I can not of course say , but I think not -- I believe his pride was hurt at his late lamentable exhibition of weakness , and he was chiefly anxious to recover his own self-respect . Whatever his motive may have been , his demeanour was a perfect blending of politeness and cordiality that won upon me in spite of myself ; and before the meal was over I had determined to render him the small amount of assistance that he had asked of me , reserving to myself the right to withdraw it at any moment that I might deem fit . He seemed sincerely grateful for my offer , and accepted it frankly and cordially with the reservation that I had attached to it ; and having accompanied me on deck and turned the hands up , he informed them that I had offered to temporarily perform the duties of chief mate , and that they were to obey my orders as implicitly as they would those from his own lips ; after which , as I had offered to take charge until midnight , he said that he was tired and would try to get a little sleep , and so retired below to his own cabin . The breeze continued easterly , and very moderate , frequently dropping almost calm , on which occasion we were almost invariably treated to deluges of rain , with occasional thunder and lightning . Our progress to the eastward was therefore slow , and for three whole days and nights nothing occurred to break the monotony of the voyage . On the morning of the fourth day , however , when I went on deck just before eight bells -- it having been my eight hours in , that night -- I found the brigantine once more before the wind , with a slashing breeze blowing after her , and she with every rag of canvas packed upon her that could be induced to draw .