about three
o'clock
All night long the swell went on increasing , when suddenly the wind sprang up and broke the hitherto calm swells into foaming seas , which furiously dashed round the ship though they did us no damage . Just as daylight came on the wind again dropped ; but though the wind had fallen , the sea , instead of going down , raged more fiercely than ever , making the ship roll so violently that we feared that at any moment the masts might be carried away . Yet all this time there was scarcely a breath of wind . This state of things continued till about three o'clock , when suddenly , as Brown had foretold , the gale again broke upon us , and continued to blow with increasing violence until about two o'clock on the following morning , when a more furious blast than ever struck the ship . `` Hold on for your lives ! '' shouted Mr Griffiths , who was on deck . The captain , followed by Dr Cockle , hurried from below .