noon
`` Maybe , but till the gale is over , here I 'll stick ! '' he answered . `` And sure it 's as pretty a sample of a hurricane as any of you 'll be after wishing to see for many a day to come . '' At length , towards noon , the wind began to fall , and in a very short time , though it still blew hard , and the sea ran almost as high as before , and was consequently as dangerous , it was evident that the hurricane was over . Our hopes revived . Still , we were obliged to run on before the wind ; and to avoid the danger of being pooped by the quickly-following sea , we had to hoist more of our sail : indeed , we now dreaded not having wind enough to avoid the sea . Thus passed the day , and before nightfall we were rolling on a tolerably smooth swell with a moderate breeze .