midnight
They now , however , could not make much progress , nor could they have done so had a breeze sprung up , as they possessed no sails . They hoped , therefore , that it would continue calm . In this , however , they were destined to be disappointed . Not long past midnight a gentle zephyr began to play over the surface of the water , and soon it turned into a light breeze , and that increased into a stiff one , and by degrees it grew stronger and stronger , and the sea got up and tossed the boat about , and that made Madame Dubois scream as loud as before , and now and then the spray washed over them , and then she screamed louder still ; and next it was discovered that the boat leaked , and it was necessary to employ two men constantly in baling to keep her afloat . The more she tumbled about the more she leaked , and the louder poor Madame Dubois screamed . Her daughter proved herself a regular heroine , and made no noise , and only grasped the side of the boat tighter as it rose and fell on the seas . The morning approached , but matters did not improve ; the wind blew stronger ; the waves grew higher and seriously threatened to swamp the boat .