eight
o'clock
At seven o'clock , with the sun circling the lower sky , the fog under us suddenly dissipated completely . We were over the Polar ocean . Masses of drift ice and slush , but for the most part surprisingly clear . At eight o'clock , flying low -- no more than a thousand feet -- we sighted the steel tower with foundations sunk into the ocean 's depths which marks the top of our little Earth . We flashed by the tower in a moment , answering the director 's signal perfunctorily . Southward now , on the 110th East Meridian , without deviating from the straight course we had held . It was truly a beautiful sight , this Polar ocean .