noon
Nature was again merciful in this . I only remembered that it was necessary to hide myself , in case the Indians should be still in the neighbourhood and pay the wood a visit . Slowly and painfully I crept away into the forest , and there sat for several hours , scarcely thinking at all , in a half-stupefied condition . At noon the sun shone out and dried the wood . I felt no hunger , only a vague sense of bodily misery , and with it the fear that if I left my hiding-place I might meet some human creature face to face . This fear prevented me from stirring until the twilight came , when I crept forth and made my way to the border of the forest , to spend the night there . Whether sleep visited me during the dark hours or not I can not say : day and night my condition seemed the same ; I experienced only a dull sensation of utter misery which seemed in spirit and flesh alike , an inability to think clearly , or for more than a few moments consecutively , about anything .