eleven o’clock in the morning
Chatting thus and laying plans for the future , the three explorers continued to follow the coast . They noticed no change ; the abrupt cliffs covered with earth and sand showed no signs of a recent alteration in the extent of the island . It was , however , to be feared that the vast sheet of ice would be worn away at the base by the action of the warm currents , and on this point Hobson was naturally anxious . By eleven o'clock in the morning the eight miles between Capes Bathurst and Esquimaux had been traversed . A few traces of the encampment of Kalumah 's party still remained ; of course the snow huts had entirely disappeared , but some cinders and walrus bones marked the spot . The three explorers halted here for a short time , they intended to pass the few short hours of the night at Walruses ' Bay , which they hoped to reach In a few hours . They breakfasted seated on a slightly rising ground covered with a scanty and stunted herbage .