Noon
Thereupon the former removed a portion of the youngster 's burden , adding it to his own , and they hurried on for hours , till they fell exhausted upon a dry moss hummock . Here they exchanged footgear , as Buck now found his feet were paining him acutely , owing to the tightness of his rubber boots . They proved too small for Crowley as well , and in a few hours his feet were likewise ruined . Noon found them limping among the bald hills of the river 's source . Here timber was sparse and the snows , too , had thinned ; so to avoid the convolutions of the stream they cut across points , floundering among `` niggerheads '' -- quaint , wobbly hummocks of grass -- being thrown repeatedly by their packs which had developed a malicious deviltry . This footing was infinitely worse than the reeking ice , but it saved time , so they took it . Now , under their stiff mackinaws they perspired freely as the sun mounted , until their heavy garments chafed them beneath arms and legs .