nine o'clock
She became a ship passing in the night -- an emblem of the loneliness of human life , an occasion for queer confidences and sudden appeals for sympathy . On and on she went , by day and by night , following her path , until one morning broke and showed the land . Losing its shadow-like appearance it became first cleft and mountainous , next coloured grey and purple , next scattered with white blocks which gradually separated themselves , and then , as the progress of the ship acted upon the view like a field-glass of increasing power , became streets of houses . By nine o'clock the _ Euphrosyne _ had taken up her position in the middle of a great bay ; she dropped her anchor ; immediately , as if she were a recumbent giant requiring examination , small boats came swarming about her . She rang with cries ; men jumped on to her ; her deck was thumped by feet . The lonely little island was invaded from all quarters at once , and after four weeks of silence it was bewildering to hear human speech . Mrs. Ambrose alone heeded none of this stir .