three in the afternoon
Buck up . We do n't eat till we ca n't travel . '' McCan groaned , but there was no caribou suet in his pocket , and he doggedly brought up the rear . In the higher valley in which they now found themselves , the crust did not break till three in the afternoon , at which time they managed to gain the shadow of a mountain where the crust was already freezing again . Once only they paused to get out McCan 's confiscated suet , which they ate as they walked . The meat was frozen solid , and could be eaten only after thawing over a fire . But the suet crumbled in their mouths and eased the palpitating faintness in their stomachs .