eleven o'clock
But although Curtis might still cling to the hope of reaching land , I knew not what it was to have one sanguine thought . For me there was neither continent nor island ; the world was one fluid sphere , uniform , monotonous , as in the most primitive period of its formation . Nevertheless it must be owned that it was with a certain amount of impatience that I awaited the rising of the mist , for I was anxious to shake off the phantom fallacies that Curtis 's words had suggested to my mind . Not till eleven o'clock did the fog begin to break , and as it rolled in heavy folds along the surface of the water , I could every now and then catch glimpses of a clear blue sky beyond . Fierce sunbeams pierced the cloud-rifts , scorching and burning our bodies like red-hot iron ; but it was only above our heads that there was any sunlight to condense the vapor ; the horizon was still quite invisible . There was no wind , and for half an hour longer the fog hung heavily round the raft , while Curtis , leaning against the side , strove to penetrate the obscurity . At length the sun burst forth in full power , and , sweeping the surface of the ocean , dispelled the fog and left the horizon open to our eyes .