noon
The snow fell gently through the pulseless air , not in flakes , but in tiny frost crystals of delicate design . It was very warm -- barely ten below zero -- and the men did not mind . Meyers and Bettles had raised their ear flaps , while Malemute Kid had even taken off his mittens . The dogs had been fagged out early in the after noon , but they now began to show new vigor . Among the more astute there was a certain restlessness -- an impatience at the restraint of the traces , an indecisive quickness of movement , a sniffing of snouts and pricking of ears . These became incensed at their more phlegmatic brothers , urging them on with numerous sly nips on their hinder quarters . Those , thus chidden , also contracted and helped spread the contagion .