one o’clock in the morning
Hitherto , the sea had been calm , almost stagnant as a pond . Now , however , long undulations took place , which the sailors recognized , all too well , as being the rebound produced by a distant tempest . A ship , in such a case , would have been instantly brought ahull , but no manoeuvring could be applied to our raft , which could only drift before the blast . At one o'clock in the morning one vivid flash , followed , after the interval of a few seconds , by a loud report of thunder , announced that the storm was rapidly approaching . Suddenly the horizon was enveloped in a vapourous fog , and seemed to contract until it was close around us . At the same instant the voice of one of the sailors was heard shouting , -- `` A squall ! a squall ! ''