My watch went on duty at four o'clock.

We were not called in the usual way, by the boatswain's whistle, but each man was roused separately.

This in itself was sufficient to lend an air of intense interest to the scene.
On reaching the deck I found that the night had grown stormy.

A chill wind was blowing off the coast, rendering pea coats and watch caps extremely comfortable.

A fine rain began to fall shortly after four, and by the time I had taken my post forward as a lookout it had increased to a regular squall.
The "Yankee" was a splendid sea boat, but in the course of an hour the choppy waves kicked up by the storm set her to bobbing about like the proverbial cork.