midnight
The wind rose steadily , and before long the staunch craft was creaking and groaning as she climbed the ocean billows or slid swiftly down their steep sides . By the evening of the 24th the wind had increased to a gale . All the upper sails had been hauled down , and the lower ones doubly reefed ; but still an occasional wave fell with a mighty crash on the deck , swirled along the sides , and gurgled through the lee scuppers . At midnight Claude , true to his promise , went on deck . He had , of course , no expectation of seeing Marguerite , but he had not failed to keep his word , and be at the appointed spot each night . The storm was raging when he reached the deck . There was no rain , but the sky was covered with flying clouds , through which the waning moon burst fitfully , only to be immediately swallowed up again .