noon
However , thanks to the interposing aid of Providence , we got through the dangers of the night , and day dawned at last . It was a terribly anxious watch , though , for all hands -- especially for the skipper and Jorrocks , and the men told off to hold the sheets of the sails ; for these latter could n't be belayed , having to be hauled taut or let go at a moment 's notice . With the advent of day came renewed hope , in spite of our not being able yet to see land -- nothing being in sight ahead or astern , to the right or the left , but the same eternal sea and sky , sky and sea , which the rising sun , although it lent a ray of radiance to the scene , only made infinitely more dreary and illimitable . Towards noon , however , away on the port bow , the peak of a snow-topped mountain was perceived just above the horizon . `` Hurrah ! '' cried Captain Billings . `` There 's our old friend Cape Horn !