At the distance of a mile they appeared to tower and almost impend over us.
Toward noon the wind flawed for half an hour, then dropped altogether.
The current, which was setting out to sea, began to drag us back with it slowly.

There wasn't a breath of air stirring.

Blazes! how the sun poured down! Guard got round in the thin shadow of the mainsail, and actually lolled among icebergs.

There we were stuck.

That is one of the disadvantages of a sailing-vessel: you have to depend on the wind,--the most capricious thing in the universe.