about
midday
And we soon came to the conclusion that our companions ashore were in like case with ourselves , so far at least as hunger was concerned , for about half an hour later we saw them rise to their feet , point first to their mouths and then to the top of the cliff , and presently proceed to the cliff foot , evidently in search of a spot at which it might be climbed . And although , viewed from the wreck , the cliff appeared to be quite vertical , they soon found such a spot ; for , as we watched , they began to ascend the cliff , zigzagging to right and left and apparently following something that by courtesy might be called a path , for they walked rather than climbed it , reaching the top in about five minutes . Then , with a wave of the hand to us , they turned into the bushes and disappeared , returning about an hour afterwards with what , as they held it up for us to see , looked like a small bunch of bananas . Meanwhile , the gale having broken , the wind rapidly dropped , until about midday it fell stark calm . But it was not until nearly sunset that the surf on the beach had abated sufficiently to render it at all safe for us to attempt the swim from the wreck to the shore , by which time we were both so ravenously hungry that we were prepared to take quite an appreciable amount of risk , if by doing so we could procure the wherewithal to appease our craving for food . And while waiting for the sea to go down we employed our time usefully in cutting adrift the rigging by which the broken masts remained attached to the wreck , thus giving the wreckage a chance to drive ashore upon the beach , where we should eventually want it . At length , however , when the sun had dropped to within some fifteen degrees of the western horizon , and was shining full into the bay where the wreck lay , the sea had so far gone down and the surf on the beach had so far abated as to render it possible for us to land without incurring much risk of injury to our limbs ; we therefore awoke Murdock -- who had passed most of the day in sleep -- and , finding him in pretty good form after his long rest , forthwith proceeded to make the attempt .