four o’clock
While we were walking , I thought the lights of our Ruhmkorff devices would automatically attract some inhabitants of these dark strata . But if they did approach us , at least they kept at a distance regrettable from the hunter 's standpoint . Several times I saw Captain Nemo stop and take aim with his rifle ; then , after sighting down its barrel for a few seconds , he would straighten up and resume his walk . Finally , at around four o'clock , this marvelous excursion came to an end . A wall of superb rocks stood before us , imposing in its sheer mass : a pile of gigantic stone blocks , an enormous granite cliffside pitted with dark caves but not offering a single gradient we could climb up . This was the underpinning of Crespo Island . This was land .