two o’clock in
the afternoon
`` If it does see us , '' whispered Hobson in Long 's ear , `` it is more likely to avoid us than to come nearer . '' The Lieutenant was right , for there is nothing vessels dread more in these latitudes than the approach of icebergs and ice-floes ; they look upon them as floating rocks , against which there is a danger of striking , especially in the night , and they therefore hasten to change their course when ice is sighted ; and this vessel would most likely do the same , if it noticed the islet at all . The alternations of hope and despair through which the anxious watchers passed may be imagined , but can not be described . Until two o'clock in the afternoon they were able to believe that Heaven had at last taken pity on them -- that help was coming -- that their safety was assured . The vessel continued to approach in an oblique direction , and was presently not more than six miles from the islet . Signal after signal was tried , gun after gun fired , and some of the planks of the shed were burnt . All in vain -- either they were not seen , or the vessel was anxious to avoid the islet .