about midnight
It was rather dangerous stuff to venture among , as some of the loose planks were lancing about in the wash of the sea with considerable violence , and a blow from a jagged end would have inflicted a more or less serious injury , even had it not killed us outright ; but at length I found a little clear space among the wreckage , into which I towed my companion , and presently we found ourselves close alongside one of the masts , with the after-rim of the top riding dry ; and on to this I at once climbed , hauling Miss Onslow after me , and lashing her securely to the top by means of an end of rope cut from among the raffle . Here we were reasonably safe and comfortable , for we were upon a raft of buoyant material that would probably float for months , while there was so much of it that it effectually broke the sea and prevented it from washing over us . It was a terrible situation for such a delicately-nurtured girl as she who had so unexpectedly been thrown under my protecting care ; but throughout the night she never uttered a single word that could be construed into complaint ; nor did she evince the slightest fear ; on the contrary , she exhibited a calm and steadfast courage that filled me with admiration , although the questions that she put to me from time to time rendered it perfectly clear that she very fully realised the desperate nature of our predicament . Some time during the night -- it would probably be about midnight -- the wind dropped to a light breeze , and the sea began to go down , until by daylight there was only a very gentle air blowing , with very little sea , but a long , heavy swell ; the clouds all went drifting away out of sight , leaving the sky clear ; and there was , generally , a very promising prospect that the coming day would be fine . The moment that it was light enough to see , I scrambled up on the wreckage and took a long look round , in the hope of descrying a sail , but the horizon was bare . Then , as the light grew stronger , I proceeded to minutely inspect the mass of wreckage that had afforded us shelter throughout the night , with the view of ascertaining its capabilities as a refuge for a more or less lengthy period -- until , in fact , we were either taken off by a passing ship , or perished of starvation . There seemed to be a great deal of it -- much more than I could satisfactorily account for -- but as the dawn spread and brightened , and objects grew increasingly distinct , everything became intelligible , even to the cause of the catastrophe that had so suddenly and terribly hurled us from a situation of safety and comfort into one of the direst peril and uncertainty .