one o'clock
Fearing that some reefs or rocky formations might exist in their course , he reduced sail , and kept away from the shore about a mile . At this distance he was better able to see inland , and mark down the accident of its formation . The southern coast was uniform , and Helen said it resembled the cliffs of the Kentish or Sussex coast of England , only the English white was here replaced by the pale volcanic gray . By one o'clock they came abreast the very spot where they had first made land ; and , as they judged , due south of their residence . Had they landed here , a walk of three miles across the center of the island would have brought them home . For about a similar distance the coast exhibited monotonous cliffs unbroken even by a rill . It was plain that the water-shed of the island was all northward .