four o'clock
She was drifting now , they estimated , eleven knots an hour , with wind , sea , and current all forcing her in the same direction , drifting into one of the most dangerous places in the known world , the south China Sea , with its numberless reefs , shoals , and isolated rocks , and the great island of Borneo stretching right across the path of the cyclone . Still , there was nothing to be done save to make a few unobtrusive preparations and trust to idle chance . To attempt to anchor and ride out the gale in their present position was out of the question . Two , three , four o'clock came , and went . Another half-hour would witness the dawn and a further clearing of the weather . The barometer was rapidly rising . The center of the cyclone had swept far ahead .