noon
He afterwards told me that we passed another reef to the northward while I was below , how many we escaped during the night we could not tell . Thus some of the dangers to be encountered by those navigating among coral islands will be understood . At length , one morning when I came on deck to keep my watch , I saw the stars shining brightly overhead -- the wind had fallen , the sea was going down , and the schooner , with her squaresail rigged out , was running gaily along . At noon we took an observation , when we found that we were less than a hundred miles from the port of Apia , which we therefore expected to reach the next day , unless the wind should fail us . We were more fortunate than we expected . Early the next morning the land was seen over the port bow rising in a succession of ridges to a moderate height above the sea . We had made an excellent landfall , for the harbour of Apia was almost directly ahead .