About
noon
repeated Ishmael emphatically , but with the deepest reverence . For some hours longer the wind raved and the sea roared around the wreck ; but even the highest waves could not now wash over it . As the sun arose the mist cleared away and the wreck gradually dried . About noon the sea began to subside . And at sunset all was calm and clear . Ishmael and his companions now suffered from only two causes-hunger and cold-the sharpest hunger and the most intense cold ; for every single atom and article that could be possibly used for food or covering had been washed out of the wreck and swept off to sea . And all day long they had been fasting and exposed to all the inclemency of that severe season and climate .