midday
It wet them in spite of their precautions , and its salt breath searched out their marrow , regardless of their unceasing labors ; and these labors were in truth unceasing , for fifty miles of open water lay before them ; fifty miles , which meant twelve hours of steady paddling . Gradually , imperceptibly , the mountain shores behind them shrank down upon the gray horizon . It seemed that for once the weather was going to be kind to them , and their spirits rose in consequence . They ate frequently , food being the great fuel of the North , and midday found them well out upon the heaving bosom of the Straits with the Kodiak shores plainly visible . Then , as if tired of toying with them , the wind rose . It did not blow up a gale -- merely a frigid breath that cut them like steel and halted their progress . Had it sprung from the north it would have wafted them on their way , but it drew in from the Pacific , straight into their teeth , forcing them to redouble their exertions .