four in the afternoon
`` Blast ye , '' said the Old Man , shaking his benumbed arms towards the sou ' - west . `` Blast ye -- but ye 've been a long time comin ' ! '' The wind was now to his liking , it was the weather he had looked for , and sure enough , as quick succeeding squalls rolled up on us , the sea grew less and ran truer , and the barque sailed easier . The wind fell to a moderate gale , and by four in the afternoon we had a reefed foresail and the tops ` ls set , and were staggering along at a great speed . The decks were yet awash , there was no comfort on deck or below ; but through it all we had one consoling thought : _ East , half south _ , we were covering the leagues that lay between us and our journey 's end ! Car-conducting may be a work of niceness and despatch , but it is ill training for working on the spars of a rolling ship . John Cutler was mousing clew-blocks on the main-yardarm , the ship lurched heavily , the foot-ropes were wet and slippery , and John , ill-balanced and unready , was cast into the sea .