four o'clock in the
morning
They were seized with cold , and in a moment covered with a coat of ice . The moon appeared to them red as blood . After having traversed these high regions during half an hour , the machine again fell into the sea . It was four o'clock in the morning : the bodies of the wretched aeronauts were half in the water , and the balloon , acting as a sail , dragged them about during several hours . At daybreak , they found themselves opposite Pesaro , five miles from the shore ; they were about to land , when a sudden flow of wind drove them back to the open sea . They were lost ! The affrighted barks fled at their approach .