noon
`` Land ho ! '' The idlers on deck sprang to their feet , and the cabins were speedily emptied of their occupants . All eyes turned southwards . Nothing visible save the horizon , gray with the heat-haze of noon , and the gray-blue waters that heaved up to meet it . But the sailor in the crosstrees could see what was invisible to those on the deck . The gazers looked at him . He extended his forefinger over their heads .