ten o'clock
The sensation of coolness imparted by the contact of our wet clothing with our bodies was very refreshing , and as long as it lasted we were able to pull a quick , steady stroke that put us along at the rate of about three knots with little or no fatigue . The worst of it was that it did not last long , for within ten minutes the sun had dried our clothes again , and we began to perspire once more . But we soon found a simple remedy for this by ceasing work just long enough to enable us to pour two or three buckets of water over each other , and then getting to work again ; and although these frequent stoppages no doubt had the effect of retarding our progress to some extent , I do not think our actual loss of speed was very great , for the refreshment derived from these often-repeated sousings was such that we were able to put a good deal more life and vigour into our work than would otherwise have been possible . As regards the alleged abatement of thirst , although I did not experience any perceptible relief during the first half-hour of the experiment , I certainly did afterwards , and so did the others ; and although at ten o'clock we each avidly took our third of half a pint of water , there were no further complaints of thirst . And here let me mention , for the benefit of any reader who may be so unfortunate as to find himself at any time in a similar predicament , that I then made the important discovery that the most effectual method of assuaging thirst with a very limited quantity of water is not to gulp it down and have done with it , but to sip it slowly , about a teaspoonful at a time , and retain each sip in the mouth at least half a minute before swallowing it . The amount of comfort -- not to say enjoyment -- relief , and refreshment thus obtainable is nothing short of marvellous . But , despite every device that we could think of to obtain relief , our sufferings during that day were terrible ; for although , by assiduously sousing each other with salt water at frequent intervals , we contrived to avoid the worst torments of thirst , our faces , arms , and hands -- in fact all the exposed portions of our bodies , were so frightfully scorched by the sun that even before knocking-off work to take our midday meal we had begun to blister , and by nightfall our faces and arms were covered with blisters .