noon
By noon that day the wind had moderated sufficiently to permit of our shaking out another reef , and when the sun went down out of a clear sky , shooting his last rays in a long trail of burning gold athwart the tumbling waste of still tumultuous waters , the _ Dolphin _ was once more under all plain sail , and speeding to the westward in the direction that we surmised had been taken by the brigantine and the ship . During the night the wind dropped still further , and the following morning found us , with our sails barely filled , creeping lazily along over a long , low swell that had already begun to wear that streaky , oily appearance which sometimes heralds the approach of a stark calm . Our calculations had led us to hope that with the appearance of daylight on this particular morning we should sight the brigantine and her prize , as we had grown to consider the disabled ship ; but , greatly to our disappointment , nothing was to be seen in any direction , even from the lofty elevation of our royal-yard . As the day wore on the wind died away altogether , and by noon the schooner had lost steerage-way , her head boxing the compass as she floated on the glass-smooth undulations that alone remained to tell of the elemental fury that had raged over the spot but a few hours previously . We remained thus becalmed for fifty-four hours , so utterly devoid of movement that the ash-dust and galley refuse hove overboard by the cook during that time collected into an unsightly patch alongside , just abaft the larboard fore-rigging , in the exact spot where they had been thrown . The weather was now excessively hot , and those of us who could swim took advantage of so favourable an opportunity for bathing by spending most of our time off duty in the water alongside , until the appearance of a shark 's fin or two , at no great distance , warned us of the danger of such a proceeding , and caused the skipper to issue an order that no man was to go overboard without especial permission . A few hours of such weather , after the gale , would have been an agreeable change , affording us , as it did , an excellent opportunity to dry our drenched clothing ; but it was spun out so long that we were all heartily glad when , toward sunset on the second day of the calm , a delicate line of blue , betokening the approach of a breeze , appeared along the northern horizon ; and by the time that the sun had sunk out of sight , the first faint breathings reached us .