about five o'clock
Hour after hour we watched for a sail , and no sail appeared . One could hardly believe we could toss about so long in the main highway of traffic without seeing a ship or spying more than the smoke-trail of some passing steamer . As far as I could judge , during those days and nights , the wind veered from south-west to south-east , and carried us steadily and surely towards the open Atlantic . On the third evening out , about five o'clock , I saw a dark object on the horizon . Was it moving towards us ? We strained our eyes in breathless suspense . A minute passed , and then another .