 In the following four sections , the moods of the men fluctuate from anger at their desperate situation , to a growing empathy for one another and the sudden realization that nature is indifferent to their fates . The men become fatigued and bicker with one another ; nevertheless , the oiler and the correspondent take turns rowing toward shore , while the cook bails water to keep the boat afloat . When they see a lighthouse on the horizon , their hope is tempered with the realization of the danger of trying to reach it . Their hopes dwindle further when , after seeing a man waving from shore , and what may or may not be another boat , they fail to make contact . The correspondent and the oiler continue to take turns rowing , while the others sleep fitfully during the night . The correspondent then notices a shark swimming near the boat , but he does not seem to be bothered by it as one would expect . In the penultimate chapter , the correspondent wearily recalls a verse from the poem " Bingen on the Rhine " by Caroline Norton , in which a " soldier of the Legion " dies far from home . 
