three o'clock in the
morning
At last , about midnight , we set off afoot up the trail to the nearest lumber camp . Asa led the way with the lantern , and old Tommy followed behind us with his precious traps . The camp was nearly six miles away ; it proved a hard , dismal tramp , for now the snow was seven or eight inches deep . We reached the camp between two and three o'clock in the morning , and roused Andrews , the foreman , and his crew of loggers . Never was warm shelter more welcome to us . At daybreak the next morning it was still snowing , but Andrews and eight of his men went back with us . The horses still lay there in the snow in a pitiful plight ; we all agreed that it was better to end their sufferings as quickly as possible .