about nine o'clock
On the morning of the eighth day after their pursuit of Thor , Bruce and Metoosin rode over into the eastward valley with the dogs . Metoosin was to have a day 's start , and Bruce planned to return to camp that afternoon so that he and Langdon could begin their hunt up the valley the next day . It was a glorious morning . A cool breeze came from the north and west , and about nine o'clock Langdon fastened Muskwa to his tree , saddled a horse , and rode down the valley . He had no intention of hunting . It was a joy merely to ride and breathe in the face of that wind and gaze upon the wonders of the mountains . He travelled northward for three or four miles , until he came to a broad , low slope that broke through the range to the westward .