midday
Because of the storm it was unlikely that the men would venture upon the Bay . They had kept late hours drinking at the bottle , and unless they were awakened by the cold they would in all probability sleep late and therefore not discover his absence until the thickly falling snow had so far covered his trail as to preclude the possibility of them following it with certainty . With his mind more or less relieved on this point , Jamie suddenly realized that he was hungry . It was nearing midday . He had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours , and he had the normal appetite of a healthy boy . The snow had perceptibly increased in depth since his escape from the lean-to , and walking was correspondingly hard . He was so hungry and so weary that at length he could scarcely force one foot ahead of the other .