eleven in the morning
The sky cleared , the stars emitted an extraordinary light , and the moon shone above the horizon , no longer to leave the heavens for a fortnight . The thermometer descended to twenty-five degrees below zero . The departure was fixed for the following day . On the 23rd of October , at eleven in the morning , in a fine moonlight , the caravan set out . Precautions were this time taken that the journey might be a long one , if necessary . Jean Cornbutte followed the coast , and ascended northward . The steps of the travellers made no impression on the hard ice .