To the north, and not far away, a group of naked rocks thrust above the sea, on one of which I could distinguish a lighthouse.

In the south-west, and almost in our course, I saw the pyramidal loom of some vessel's sails.
Having completed my survey of the horizon, I turned to my more immediate surroundings.

My first thought was that a man who had come through a collision and rubbed shoulders with death merited more attention than I received.

Beyond a sailor at the wheel who stared curiously across the top of the cabin, I attracted no notice whatever.
Everybody seemed interested in what was going on amid ships.

There, on a hatch, a large man was lying on his back.