noon
He knew , perhaps for the first time , the fulness of joy that comes into life with human companionship . That night two lads at least had golden dreams of a youthful kind . Ducats and doubloons , princesses and plum-cake , swords awave and cannon blazing , great galleons with crimson sails -- no wonder that they were smiling in their sleep when George Dunkin held a lantern over the bunk at the change of the watch . The day came in dark with fog , which changed a little after noon to driving scud . The wind had gone around to the northeast and freshened steadily , driving the waves in from the sea in steep gray hills , quite different from anything Jeremy had before experienced . The sloop , under three reefs and a storm jib , began to make rough weather of it , staggering up and down the long slopes in an aimless , dizzy fashion that made Jeremy and Bob very unhappy . The poor young New Englander had to perform his regular tasks no matter how he felt within , but once the work was done he stumbled forward miserably and lay upon his bunk .