noon
Most of us , I suspect , began to think that we should never see another sunrise . It seemed a wonder , indeed , that the boat escaped being knocked to pieces . Had it continued long , we must have gone down . Towards morning , however , the wind moderated , and before noon we were able to haul the raft aboard and once more make sail . But there we were on the wide ocean , with but scanty provisions and a sorely battered boat . The weather still looked unsettled , and we feared that we should have another bad night of it . The greater part of the day had gone by , when Brown , who was at the helm while the mate was taking some rest , suddenly exclaimed -- `` A sail !