Soon he found that he could not remain in this isolation.

He needed to see and to know,--like a criminal who returns to the place where he has committed his crime.
At midday they began to see on the horizon various little clouds.

They were the ships hastening from all sides, attracted by this unexpected attack.
The French boat that was sailing ahead of them suddenly moderated its speed.

They had come into the zone of the shipwreck.

In the lookouts were sailors exploring the sea and shouting the orders that guided the steamer's course.