four o’clock in the afternoon
Under these conditions , who would n't have mistaken it for a gigantic cetacean ? I spent three-quarters of the day on the platform . I stared at the sea . Nothing on the horizon , except near four o'clock in the afternoon a long steamer to the west , running on our opposite tack . Its masting was visible for an instant , but it could n't have seen the Nautilus because we were lying too low in the water . I imagine that steamboat belonged to the Peninsular & Oriental line , which provides service from the island of Ceylon to Sidney , also calling at King George Sound and Melbourne . At five o'clock in the afternoon , just before that brief twilight that links day with night in tropical zones , Conseil and I marveled at an unusual sight .