eight o’clock in the morning
As to the sailor , from the moment when he found that the foxes were not classed in the genus eatable , they were nothing to him . However , when a poultry-yard was established at Granite House , he observed that it would be best to take some precautions against a probable visit from these four-legged plunderers , and no one disputed this . After having turned the point , the settlers saw a long beach washed by the open sea . It was then eight o'clock in the morning . The sky was very clear , as it often is after prolonged cold ; but warmed by their walk , neither Harding nor his companions felt the sharpness of the atmosphere too severely . Besides there was no wind , which made it much more bearable . A brilliant sun , but without any calorific action , was just issuing from the ocean .