about two
o'clock
By mid-day it was blowing so hard that I positively could not stand upright , but had to crawl about on my hands and knees , otherwise I should have been hurled overboard . I also attached myself to a long rope , and fastened the other end to one of the masts , so that in the event of my being washed into the raging sea , I could pull myself on board again . Blinding rain had been falling most of the time , and the waves came dashing over the deck as though longing to engulf the little ship ; but she rode them all in splendid style . The climax was reached about two o'clock , when a perfect cyclone was raging , and the end seemed very near for me . It made me shudder to listen to the wind screaming and moaning round the bare poles of the sturdy little vessel , which rose on veritable mountains of water and crashed as suddenly into seething abysses that made my heart stand still . Then the weather suddenly became calm once more -- a change that was as unexpected as the advent of the storm itself . The sky , however , continued very black and threatening , and the sea was still somewhat boisterous ; but both wind and rain had practically subsided , and I could now look around me without feeling that if I stirred I was a doomed man .