eight in the evening
There was not a moment to be lost ; besides , the cold was becoming more and more severe . During the night the temperature fell below zero ; ice was already forming on the surface of the Baikal . Although the raft managed to pass easily over the lake , it might not be so easy between the banks of the Angara , should pieces of ice be found to block up its course . At eight in the evening the moorings were cast off , and the raft drifted in the current along the shore . It was steered by means of long poles , under the management of several muscular moujiks . An old Baikal boatman took command of the raft . He was a man of sixty-five , browned by the sun , and lake breezes .