noon
`` This is not a time for musing , Mr. Gray , '' continued Griffith ; `` remember our compact , and look to your charge -- is it not time to put the vessel in stays ? of what are you dreaming ? '' The pilot laid his hand on the extended arm of the lieutenant , and grasped it with a convulsive pressure , as he answered : `` 'T is a dream of reality . You are young , Mr. Griffith , nor am I past the noon of life ; but should you live fifty years longer , you never can see and experience what I have encountered in my little period of three-and-thirty years ! '' A good deal astonished at this burst of feeling , so singular at such a moment , the young sailor was at a loss for a reply ; but as his duty was uppermost in his thoughts , he still dwelt on the theme that most interested him . `` I hope much of your experience has been on this coast , for the ship travels lively , '' he said , `` and the daylight showed us so much to dread , that we do not feel over-valiant in the dark . How much longer shall we stand on , upon this tack ? ''