noon
Besides , they could not forget that one fearful moment of horror , to be remembered throughout life . Having passed the night in peaceful slumber , they take their places in the boat as soon as there is light enough to steer by . There is still a fog , though not so dense as to deter them from re-embarking , while , as on the day before , the wind is all in their favour . With sail filled by the swelling breeze , they make rapid way , and by noon are far along the Beagle Channel , approaching the place where the Murray Narrow leads out of it , trending southward . But now they see what may prove an interruption to their onward course . Through the fog , which has become much less dense , a number of dark objects are visible , mottling the surface of the water . That they are canoes can be told by the columns of smoke rising up over each , as though they were steam-launches .