three o'clock
`` It 's all right , '' explained Philip , `` unless the wind comes up , and if it does we 'll have to go into camp . '' But in the valley no wind arose to make any trouble . The party set forward to reach the head of the valley before time to go into camp . They did this by three o'clock and then , mounting an elevation and passing through a thin fringe of dwarf pines , the boys found themselves on a wind-swept plateau where the snow clung with difficulty . They had seen plenty of deer , rabbits and small game during the day but had done no shooting . They were after caribou or moose . The first look over the desolate plateau , where not even trees broke the landscape , was far from inviting .