midday
Desmond arranged that he and Fuzl Khan should take alternate periods of eight hours on and four off . The two matchlocks taken from the sentinels of the fort and brought on board were loaded and placed on deck near the wheel . None of the crew was armed save the Biluchis , who retained their knives . Towards midday the wind dropped almost to a dead calm . This was disappointing , for Desmond suspected that he was still within the area of Angria 's piratical operations -- if not from Gheria , at any rate from some of the more northerly strongholds not yet captured by the East India Company or the Peshwa . But he had a good offing : scanning the horizon all around he failed to sight a single sail ; and he hoped that the breeze would freshen as suddenly as it had dropped . Now that excitement and suspense were over , and there was nothing that called for activity , Desmond felt the natural reaction from the strain he had undergone .