eight o'clock
The storm cleared away as rapidly as it had worked up , leaving the sky absolutely cloudless , and the water thrashed down by the rain until it was smooth as a polished mirror . The heat was intense , and the men , notwithstanding their refreshing bath , went about their work languidly , perspiring at every pore . It was a positive relief to them to see the sun at last go down behind the gleaming horizon , and a greater relief still when , an hour later , a faint breeze from the eastward came creeping over the water , and , barely filling the _ Aurora 's _ light upper sails , gave her just sufficient way through the water to allow of her head being kept in the right direction . At eight o'clock that evening Mr Bowen retired to his cabin , it being then his watch below , and at nine the skipper followed his example . The ship was then stealing along through the water at a speed of about two knots , the royals , topgallantsails , and more lofty staysails just `` asleep , '' the topsails alternately filling out and flapping again to the masts with the barely perceptible swing of the ship over the low , long , sleepy heave of the swell , and the courses drooping heavily and uselessly from the yards . The sky was `` as clear as a bell , '' to use a favourite metaphor of Ritson 's , not a trace of cloud being visible in any part of the vast sapphire vault which stretched overhead , spangled here and there with a few stars of the first magnitude , and with the moon , nearly at the full , hanging in the midst like a disc of burnished silver , her pure soft light flooding the sea with its dazzling radiance , and causing the sails to stand out like sheets of ivory against the deep dark blue of the sky . There seemed to be no immediate prospect of any change in the weather , but George was thankful that the ship was really at last moving once more -- though ever so slowly -- in the right direction ; and , fervently hoping that the breeze would last long enough to run him into the `` trades , '' he went below with an easy mind , after giving Ritson the usual stereotyped order to call him should any untoward event occur .