three in the morning
The carpenter and his mates tried to repair the damage , but , tossed from wave to wave , the raft was inclined to an angle of more than forty-five degrees , making it impossible for them to keep their footing , and rolling one over another , they were thrown down by the violent shocks . Why they were not altogether carried away , why we were not all hurled into the sea , was to me a mystery . Even if the cords that bound us should retain their hold , it seemed perfectly incredible that the raft itself should not be overturned , so that we should be carried down and stifled in the seething waters . At last , toward three in the morning , when the hurricane seemed to be raging more fiercely than ever , the raft , caught up on the crest of an enormous wave , stood literally perpendicularly on its edge . For an instant , by the illumination of the lightning , we beheld ourselves raised to an incomprehensible height above the foaming breakers . Cries of terror escaped our lips . All must be over now !