noon
Job perceived this and loosed one hand long enough to strike Jeremy a mighty blow on the back . `` She works , boy ! '' he cried . `` And at this gait we 'll catch them before noon ! '' Indeed , the crew had already noticed the difference in their sailing , and were lining the bows , waving their caps in the air and yelling with excitement as they watched the distance between the two craft slowly shorten . An hour passed , and the gunners were sent below to make ready their pieces , for the lead of the pirate sloop had been cut to a bare mile . Job had turned the wheel over to Hawkes , and now , with three picked men to help him , was ramming home a heavy charge of powder in the long `` nine . ''