noon before
I brought back some pilot crackers and a can of peaches that was among the stores I had bought in town the day before , and made a fairly satisfactory breakfast of the hard bread and fruit with a pint can of coffee . But I would not remain below any length of time now . It looked very much to me as though the clouds might break and the wind shift , or lull , at any moment . Several hours passed , however , and my watch -LRB- which I had not forgotten to wind -RRB- told me that it was fast approaching noon before any change came . Then the shrieking gale dropped suddenly and the gusts of rain ceased . I leaped up at once to unfurl the jib . With a little canvas on her I believed the sloop could be wore ` round and headed into the wind before the waves sprang up .