ten o'clock in the evening
It will be remembered that the brig turned bottom upwards , and that Arthur Pym and Dirk Peters remained for several days crouching on its keel . Besides , the schooner 's pumps did not give a drop of water ; the ship was perfectly sound in every part , owing to the efficient repairs that had been done during our stay at the Falklands . The temperature had fallen rapidly , and hail , rain , and snow thickened and darkened the air . At ten o'clock in the evening -- I must use this word , although the sun remained always above the horizon -- the tempest increased , and the captain and his lieutenant , almost unable to hear each other 's voices amid the elemental strife , communicated mostly by gestures , which is as good a mode as speech between sailors . I could not make up my mind to retire to my cabin , and , seeking the shelter of the roundhouse , I remained on deck , observing the weather phenomena , and the skill , certainty , celerity , and effect with which the crew carried out the orders of the captain and West . It was a strange and terrible experience for a landsman , even one who had seen so much of the sea and seamanship as I had . At the moment of a certain difficult manoeuvre , four men had to climb to the crossbars of the fore-mast in order to reef the mainsail .