About noon
On the morning of the second day , all this suddenly changed . The ice began to open ; why , was matter of conjecture , though it was attributed to a variance between the wind and the currents . This , in some measure , liberated the schooners , and they began to move independently of the floes . About noon , the smoke of the volcano became once more visible ; and before the sun went down the cap of the highest elevation in the group was seen , amid flurries of snow . Every one was glad to see these familiar land-marks , dreary and remote from the haunts of men as they were known to be ; for there was a promise in them of a temporary termination of their labours . Incessant pumping -- one minute in four being thus employed on board the Vineyard craft -- was producing its customary effect ; and the men looked jaded and exhausted . No one who has not stood at a pump-break on board a vessel , can form any notion of the nature of the toil , or of the extreme dislike with which seamen regard it .