three
in the afternoon
He felt that sure if there was any , he would find Roger , Tom , and Connel , since a Nationalist patrol would n't advertise its presence in the jungle . But there were no smoke signs . The top of the jungle stretched green and still as far as he could see , steaming under the burning rays of the sun . Astro knew that it would be impossible to spend another night like the first in the jungle , so after searching through the forest until three in the afternoon , he stopped , opened another can of synthetic food , and ate . He was used to being alone now . The first wave of fear had left him and he was beginning to remember things he knew as a young boy ; jungle signs that warned him of dangers , the quick identification of the animal cries , and the knowledge of the habits of the jungle creatures . After eating , he took his jungle knife and hacked at a long , tough vine , yanking it down from its lofty tangle .