four in the afternoon
He turned the contents of the clothes-bag on the floor and caught up the grip with the intention of intrusting it to the man next door . Then the thought smote him that it was not his grip , and that he had no right to let it out of his own possession . So he dashed ashore with it and ran up the portage , changing it often from one hand to the other , and wondering if it really did not weigh more than forty pounds . It was half-past four in the afternoon when the two men started . The current of the Thirty Mile River was so strong that rarely could they use the paddles . It was out on one bank with a tow-line over the shoulders stumbling over the rocks , forcing a way through the underbrush , slipping at times and falling into the water , wading often up to the knees and waist ; and then , when an insurmountable bluff was encountered , it was into the canoe , out paddles , and a wild and losing dash across the current to the other bank , in paddles , over the side , and out tow-line again . It was exhausting work .