midday
Echoes are delightful and romantic things , but we had more than enough of them in that dreadful gulf . As soon as we had settled ourselves a little on the round stones , we went on to wash and dress our burns as well as we could . As we had but a little oil for the lantern , we could not spare any for this purpose , so we skinned one of the swans , and used the fat off its breast , which proved an excellent substitute . Then we repacked the canoe , and finally began to take some food , of which I need scarcely say we were in need , for our insensibility had endured for many hours , and it was , as our watches showed , midday . Accordingly we seated ourselves in a circle , and were soon engaged in discussing our cold meat with such appetite as we could muster , which , in my case at any rate , was not much , as I felt sick and faint after my sufferings of the previous night , and had besides a racking headache . It was a curious meal . The gloom was so intense that we could scarcely see the way to cut our food and convey it to our mouths .