four
o'clock
It was warm , and , on examination at the binnacle-lamp , turned out to be mud . Slight at first , it soon poured down in such quantities that in ten minutes it lay six inches thick on the deck , and the crew had to set to work with shovels to heave it overboard . At this time there was seen a continual roll of balls of white fire down the sides of the peak of Rakata , caused , doubtless , by the ejection of white-hot fragments of lava . Then showers of masses like iron cinders fell on the brig , and from that time onward till four o'clock of the morning of the 27th , explosions of indescribable grandeur continually took place , as if the mountains were in a continuous roar of terrestrial agony -- the sky being at one moment of inky blackness , the next in a blaze of light , while hot , choking , and sulphurous smells almost stifled the voyagers . At this point the captain again became anxious about Kathleen and went below . He found her in the same place and attitude -- still fascinated ! `` My child , '' he said , taking her hand , `` you must lie down and rest . ''