two o'clock
The keg was then put in a safe place , where I should be certain to find it by and by . In the course of the forenoon , I came upon a frozen bear ; and I also found , in the same vicinity , plenty of old barrel-staves , and broken hoops , and other pieces of wood , great and small , which I laid in a heap upon the earth . `` Now , '' said I , `` we will have a bit of roast meat for dinner , with a few toasted crackers for dessert . '' Before two o'clock , I had a bright fire burning , and a delicate slice of the bear roasting before it . The next thing to be done was to strip the bear of his skin ; but this I found to be a difficult task . It had been a tough job to cut out with my jack-knife the frozen slice of meat upon which I had just dined ; and it was impossible to strip off the skin without tearing it in pieces . A bright thought now occurred to me , and I proceeded to kindle a fire all around the animal ; and when the heat had become strong enough just to loosen the hide from the carcass , I went to work , and , in an hour or two , had a nice warm robe to wrap myself in at night .