noon
But they had n't much more 'n got outside of Minot 's ` fore the fog shut down , thicker 'n gruel for a sick rich man . The wind held till ` long toward mornin ' ; then she flattened to a dead calm . ` Bije Perry , the mate , he spun the yarn to me , and he said 't was thick and flat as ever he see and kept gettin ' no better fast . `` They drifted along till noon time and then they was somewheres out in the bay , but that 's about all you could say . Zach , he was stewin ' and sputterin ' like a pair of fried eels , and Lafayette Gage and Emulous Peters -- they 're Denboro folks , Mr. Ellery , and about sixteen p ` ints t ` other side of no account -- they was the only passengers aboard except Nat Hammond , and they put in their time playin ' high low jack in the cabin . The lookout was for ` ard tootin ' a tin horn and his bellerin ' was the most excitin ' thing goin ' on . After dinner -- corned beef and cabbage -- trust Zach for that , though it 's next door to cannibalism to put cabbage in HIS mouth -- after dinner all hands was on deck when Nat says : ` Hush ! '