noon
Miserable as were all of them , he was thus made far more miserable ; and it was only the flame of life , unusually strong in him , that enabled him to endure . As the days went by and they grew weaker , their peevishness and ill-temper increased , which , in turn , increased the ill-treatment and sufferings of O'Brien . By the sixteenth day all hands were far gone with hunger , and they stood together in small groups , talking in undertones and occasionally glancing at O'Brien . It was at high noon that the conference came to a head . The captain was the spokesman . All were collected on the poop . `` Men , '' the captain began , `` we have been a long time without food -- two weeks and two days it is , though it seems more like two years and two months .