three o’clock in the morning
The poor creatures , huddled together round the stove , felt that their own vital heat must soon become exhausted , but not a word of complaint passed their lips . The women bore their sufferings with the greatest heroism , and Mrs Mac-Nab pressed her baby convulsively to her ice-cold breast . Some of the soldiers slept , or rather were wrapped in a heavy torpor , which could scarcely be called sleep . At three o'clock in the morning Hobson consulted the thermometer hanging in the large room , about ten feet from the stove . It marked 4 ° Fahrenheit below zero . The Lieutenant pressed his hand to his forehead , and looked mournfully at his silent companions without a word . His half-condensed breath shrouded his face in a white cloud , and he was standing rooted to the spot when a hand was laid upon his shoulder .