noon
The heart was thus torn from its position and the animal died instantly and painlessly . The mink which was suspended by the tossing pole , and the other marten which had fallen victim to one of the `` tree sets , '' of course , could not be held by the snowshoe . As both were caught by the fore leg , a loop of copper wire was slipped about their hind legs and the animals thus stretched out and dispatched in the same manner as the first . As these three animals were not frozen , ` Merican Joe skinned them at the noon camp , thereby doing away with the weight of the useless carcasses . `` What are we going to do when we finish up this trap line ? '' asked Connie . `` It wo n't be time to look at the snares again . ''