noon
It still rained hard ; I shivered , and my teeth chattered with the cold , but there was no help for it . We again took a dram of spirits , and , worn out with fatigue and excitement , soon fell fast asleep upon a bed of leaves which we had collected together . Grave consequences of gravitation -- O'Brien enlists himself as a gendarme , and takes charge of me -- We are discovered , and obliged to run for it -- The pleasures of a winter bivouac . It was not until noon that I awoke , when I found that O'Brien had covered me more than a foot deep with leaves to protect me from the weather . I felt quite warm and comfortable ; my clothes had dried on me , but without giving me cold . `` How very kind of you , O'Brien ! '' said I. `` Not a bit , Peter : you have hard work to go through yet , and I must take care of you .