About two o'clock in the afternoon
And always Simon 's lingering impression of a goal which eluded him . The tide , still low , was leaving a greater number of islands uncovered . The waves were breaking far out to sea and rolling across wide sand-banks as though the new land had widened considerably . About two o'clock in the afternoon , he came upon higher undulations followed by a series of sandy flats in which his feet sank to a greater depth than usual . Absorbed by the dreary spectacle of a ship 's mast protruding from the sand , with its tattered and coloured flag flopping in the wind , he pressed on all unsuspecting . In a few minutes , the sand was up to his knees , then half-way up his thighs . He laughed , still unheeding .