seven o'clock
It was bitter cold , at least sixty-five below zero , and when Kama harnessed the dogs with naked hands he was compelled several times to go over to the fire and warm the numbing finger-tips . Together the two men loaded and lashed the sled . They warmed their hands for the last time , pulled on their mittens , and mushed the dogs over the bank and down to the river-trail . According to Daylight 's estimate , it was around seven o'clock ; but the stars danced just as brilliantly , and faint , luminous streaks of greenish aurora still pulsed overhead . Two hours later it became suddenly dark -- so dark that they kept to the trail largely by instinct ; and Daylight knew that his time-estimate had been right . It was the darkness before dawn , never anywhere more conspicuous than on the Alaskan winter-trail . Slowly the gray light came stealing through the gloom , imperceptibly at first , so that it was almost with surprise that they noticed the vague loom of the trail underfoot .