midday
The dangers of the desolate sea are dealt out as the Gods will , and man can only take them as they come . Storms we encountered , and the mariners fought them with stubborn endurance ; twice a blazing stone from Heaven hissed into the sea beside us , though without injuring any of our ships ; and , as was unavoidable , the great beasts of the sea hunted us with their accustomed savagery . But only once did we suffer material loss from these last , and that was when three of the greater sea lizards attacked the `` Bear , '' the ship whereon I travelled , at one and the same time . The hour of their onset was during the blazing midday heat , and the Sun being at the full of His power , our machines were getting full force from Him . The vessel was travelling forward faster than a man on dry land could walk . But for the power escape she might as well have been standing still when the beasts sighted her . There were three of them , as I have said , and we saw them come up over the curve of the horizon , beating the sea into foam with their flappers , and waving their great necks like masts as they swam .