Twelve o'clock
If it is n't eighty below , it 's because it 's seventy - nine . '' He pulled out his watch , and after some fumbling got it back into the breast pocket of his thick woollen jacket . Then he surveyed the heavens and ran his eye along the white sky-line to the south . `` Twelve o'clock , '' he mumbled , `` A clear sky , and no sun . '' He plodded on silently for ten minutes , and then , as though there had been no lapse in his speech , he added : `` And no ground covered , and it 's too cold to travel . '' Suddenly he yelled `` Whoa ! '' at the dogs , and stopped .