about noon
He could now plainly see that a high rocky point to the southward , which stretched some distance out to sea , would cut off all view of the approach of rescuers coming from that direction , until they were within a mile or two of his landing-place . Back from the sea the hills grew higher , until they blended into the lofty stretches of the Andes , this being one of the few points where the hilly country extends to the ocean . The coast to the north curved a little oceanward , so that a much more extended view could be had in that direction , but as far as he could see by means of a little pocket-glass which the boy Ralph had lent him , the captain could discover no signs of habitation , and in this direction the land seemed to be a flat desert . When he returned to camp , about noon , he had made up his mind that the proper thing to do was to make himself and his companions as comfortable as possible and patiently await the return of his mate with succor . Captain Horn was very well satisfied with his present place of encampment . Although rain is unknown in this western portion of Peru , which is , therefore , in general desolate and barren , there are parts of the country that are irrigated by streams which flow from the snow-capped peaks of the Andes , and one of these fertile spots the captain seemed to have happened upon . On the plateau there grew a few bushes , while the face of the rock in places was entirely covered by hanging vines .