midday
When we came to the island we found no difficulty in landing , and were soon engaged with the picks and crow-bars we had brought with us , in the work of gold-getting . We found the report given by the Spanish sailors , who had been the first to land , to be somewhat exaggerated . Still , there was an abundance of gold between the crevices of the rock , and , what was more remarkable , we came upon what had evidently been vessels of beaten gold , thus proving beyond doubt that the island had formerly been inhabited . During the course of the morning we obtained as much gold mixed with quartz as the boats could conveniently carry , when we returned to the ship , intending , after our midday meal , to come back for a fresh supply of the precious metal , but on getting aboard we found Hartog much perturbed by the extraordinary behaviour of the compass , and the strange appearance of the sky . `` I do n't like the look of it , Peter , '' said Hartog , when we descended together to the cabin to discuss the situation . `` I never knew this to happen before but once , and I am not anxious to repeat the experience . Unless I am greatly mistaken , there 's something big coming . ''