about noon
It may be remembered that when Mr Meldrum assumed the command of the party in the place of Captain Dinks , who was still on the sick list and recovering slowly but yet far from well , he established certain regulations for the employment of the men . Amongst the several duties they had to perform , in accordance with these regulations , was the one of keeping watch , as if on guard , for a certain stated number of hours at the foot of a short flagstaff which had been erected on the top of a little eminence overlooking the beach in front of the creek -- a man being stationed here regularly to report anything that might come in sight . This duty , it may be added , had been a sinecure from the date of its institution , nothing having ever since been seen . On this last day of September , however , all hands were electrified by the look-out man calling out , just about noon . `` Sail ho ! '' `` A sail ! '' cried Mr Meldrum , quite as much astonished as the rest ; and he hurried out to scan the offing .