three o'clock
For two hours Bram led his pack straight into the west . The night cleared after that , and as the stars grew brighter and more numerous in the sky the plain was lighted up on all sides of them , as on the night when Philip had first seen Bram . By lighting an occasional match Philip continued to keep a record of direction and time . It was three o'clock , and they were still traveling west , when to his surprise they struck a small patch of timber . The clump of stunted and wind-snarled spruce covered no more than half an acre , but it was conclusive evidence they were again approaching a timber-line . From the patch of spruce Bram struck due north , and for another hour their trail was over the white Barren . Soon after this they came to a fringe of scattered timber which grew steadily heavier and deeper as they entered into it .