three in the afternoon
`` I reckon you are right , chief , '' Jerry said . `` It is mighty lucky we did n't go on . It ca n't be much worse here than it was before . '' At three in the afternoon it began to snow heavily again . There was less wind than there had been on the previous occasion , and the snow drifted through the entrance less than before . Just as they were turning in for the night an ominous crack was heard above . All leapt from their blankets , and looking up they could see by the light of the fire that the poles supporting the skin were all bent in a curve downwards .