three o’clock
The carpenter was particularly elated ; all eagerly scanned the horizon , and had they been told that no land could be sighted , they would have refused to believe it . So it appeared , however ; for the strip of ice floated along on the waves for three hours in the centre of an absolutely circular and unbroken horizon . The poor colonists still hoped on . Towards three o'clock , the Lieutenant took the Sergeant aside , and said to him -- `` We are advancing at the cost of the solidity and duration of our islet . '' `` What do you mean , sir ? '' `` I mean that the ice is being rapidly fretted away as it moves along . Its speed is hastening its dissolution , and since we set sail it has diminished one-third . ''