I sat down in my berth--there were four berths in each room--and watched her, and somehow the faith grew in me that we were not going that way at that time, that the hour had not come; and I went back to the mess-room to try to inspire confidence in my friends.
The afternoon was now wearing on.

Since 10 A.M.we had made no headway towards our port, and when I looked at the cliffs it was clear that they were getting nearer, and the wind showed no signs of lulling.

Our only hope lay in being able to drift so slowly that the wind might fall before we struck, and if that did not take place before nightfall it probably would not till the next morning.

Rationally I understood this perfectly, but I could not feel that there was imminent danger.

I had no presentiment of death, and nothing that I could do would enable me to realize the real and visible danger.
The wind never lulled an instant or blew a degree less furiously; it came still from the blue sky, and still we plunged and buried our bows and shipped floods at every plunge; the wheels throbbed and beat as ever, and no one moved on deck.