midnight
And , indeed , so it seemed ; for about the middle of the second dog-watch the wind lulled perceptibly and we had a sharp rain-squall , soon after which it breezed up again , the wind coming first of all in gusts and then in a strong breeze that , as the night wore on , steadily increased until it was blowing half a gale , with every indication of worse to come . The sea , too , rose rapidly , and came rushing down upon our starboard quarter , high , steep , and foam-crested , causing the frigate to roll and tumble about most unpleasantly under her jury-rig and short canvas . Altogether , the prospects for the night were so exceedingly unpromising that I must plead guilty to having experienced a selfish joy at the reflection that it was my eight hours in . When I went on deck at midnight that night , I found that the wind had increased to a whole gale , with a very high and confused sea running , over which the poor maimed _ Althea _ was wallowing along at a speed of about eight and a half knots , with a dismal groaning of timbers that harmonised lugubriously with the clank of the chain pumps and the swash of water washing nearly knee-deep about the decks -- for the hooker laboured so heavily that she was leaking like a basket , necessitating the unremitting use of the pumps throughout the watch . And -- worst of all -- Keene whispered to me that , even with the pumps going constantly , the water was slowly but distinctly gaining . And thus it continued all through the middle watch . It was hoped that the gale would not be of long duration , but at eight bells next morning the news was that the mercury was still falling , while the wind , instead of evincing a disposition to moderate , blew harder than ever .