midnight
Accordingly , pocketing our dollars and slinging our wolf-skin knapsacks over our backs , we put on our skates and commenced our journey . We got on famously , for the air was calm , although the cold was intense . We found our friend Kepenau , too , encamped where we had left him ; and stopping for a short time , we took our mid-day meal with him . As we had made such good progress during the morning , we hoped to reach the hut before midnight , for the moon was up , and we could not miss our way . Uncle Mark was in good spirits , well satisfied with the result of our expedition , and we laughed and chatted as we glided over the smooth ice . `` We must not forget our wolf-skin , '' I observed . `` We shall get up to the spot before daylight is over , and I would rather carry it on my back than leave it behind . ''