four in the afternoon
He was next to helpless since every movement produced the most acute sort of pain -- sufficiently so that when he had made shift to get some breakfast he could scarcely eat . In the course of his experiments in self-aid he discovered that to lie flat on his back with the slashed foot raised higher than his body gave a measure of ease . So he adopted this position and stoically set out to endure the hurt . He lay in that position the better part of the day -- until , in fact , four in the afternoon brought Sam Carr , shotgun in hand , to his door . Carr had seldom been in the cabin . This evening , for some reason , he put his head in the door , and whistled softly at sight of Thompson 's bandaged foot cocked up on a folded overcoat . `` Well , well , '' he said , standing his gun against the door casing and coming in .