eleven o’clock
P.M
Sergeant Long pointed to several small blocks of ice floating in the offing , and rapidly melting , which had evidently been broken off from their island . The action of the warm surf would , of course , soon eat away the new coast-line , which time had not yet clothed with a kind of cement of snow and sand , such as covered the rest of the beach , and altogether the state of things was very far from reassuring . Before taking any rest , Mrs Barnett , Hobson , and Long , were anxious to finish their examination of the southern edge of the island . There would be plenty of daylight , for the sun would not set until eleven o'clock P.M. . The briliant orb of day was slowly advancing along the western horizon , and its oblique rays cast long shadows of themselves before the explorers , who conversed at intervals after long silent pauses , during which they gazed at the sea and thought of the dark future before them . Hobson intended to encamp for the night at Washburn Bay . When there eighteen miles would have been traversed , and , if he were not mistaken , half his circular journey would be accomplished .