About
noon
He could not be boarded in such weather , and it was matter of indifference where his pursuer might be , so long as he had time to escape , when the gale ceased . On the whole , he was rather glad than otherwise of the present state of things , for it offered a chance to slip away to leeward as soon as the weather would permit , if , indeed , his tormentor did not altogether disappear in the northern board , or to windward . The hopes and fears of the worthy master , however , were poured principally into the ears of his two mates ; for few of the passengers were visible until the afternoon of the second day of the gale ; then , indeed , a general relief to their physical suffering occurred , though it was accompanied by apprehensions that scarcely permitted the change to be enjoyed . About noon , on that day , the wind came with such power , and the seas poured down against the bows of the ship with a violence so tremendous , that it got to be questionable whether she could any longer remain with safety in her present condition . Several times in the course of the morning , the waves had forced her bows off , and before the ship could recover her position , the succeeding billow would break against her broadside , and throw a flood of water on her decks . This is a danger peculiar to lying-to in a gale ; for if the vessel get into the trough of the sea , and is met in that situation by a wave of unusual magnitude , she runs the double risk of being thrown on her beam-ends , and of having her decks cleared of everything , by the cataract of water that washes athwart them . Landsmen entertain little notion of the power of the waters , when driven before a tempest , and are often surprised , in reading of naval catastrophes , at the description of the injuries done .