noon
That was an uneasy day . The man-of-war gained , but it was quite slowly . She might beat us by a knot in the hour , and , being ten miles astern , there was still the hope of its falling dark before she could close . The wind , too , was unsteady , and towards noon it grew so light , as to reduce both vessels to only two or three knots way . Of course , this greatly lessened the difference in our rate of sailing , and I had now strong hopes that night might come , before our pursuers could close . Nor was I disappointed . The wind continued light until sunset , when it came out a fine breeze at north-west , bringing us dead to windward of the brig , which was then distant some six miles .