nine o'clock
After he had put up his tent before the fire he made himself a bed of balsam boughs and tell into a deep sleep , from which neither dawn nor the restless movements of the dogs could awaken him . When at last he opened his eyes it was broad day . He jumped to his feet and looked at his watch . It was nine o'clock , and after ten before he again took up the pursuit of the two sledges . Not until several hours later did he give up hope of overtaking Isobel and her father as he had planned , and he reproved himself roundly for having overslept . The afternoon was half gone before he struck their camp of the preceding evening , and he knew that , because of his own loss of time , Isobel was still as far ahead of him as when he had left Lac Bain . He made up some of this time by following the trail for an hour when the moon was at its highest , and then pitched his tent .