noon
They could not gain a word of information from the woman or children as to how they had arrived at such a pitiable plight , what they had done with the stolen provisions , why their friends had abandoned them , or what had become of Arsenic . `` I 'll tell you what , '' said Cabot at length ; `` we 'll provide them with a supply of wood and leave all the provisions we can possibly spare . Then we will hurry on to Indian Harbour , send back some more provisions from there by Yim , and get him to report the case to Mr. Mellins . '' As there seemed nothing better to be done , this plan was carried out , though dividing the provisions made each portion look woefully small , and by noon the sledge was again on its way southward . The head of the fiord having been reached , the trail now left the sheltering timber and struck across an open country , which was also extremely rugged , abounding in hills and hollows . Over these the sledge pulled heavily , in spite of its lightened load , because one of the ice shoes , with which its runners were shod , had broken and could not be repaired until camp was made . When they had gone about three miles , and while our lads were still talking of the suffering they had so recently witnessed , they were attracted by an exclamation from Yim , who was pointing eagerly ahead .