noon
`` I have gone a full day many a time without food , '' he said , as he tramped along , `` but it seems to me I never was as ravenous as now . I believe I could eat a pair of boiled moccasins , that is , if they had never been in use . '' He was ashamed of his weakness , and resolutely refrained from giving any evidence of his suffering , but when he detected the pale green foliage of the fragrant birch , he ventured to step out of the trail , break off a branch and chew the bark , thus securing temporary relief from the gnawing discomfort . High noon came , but no halt had been made . The lad had left the trail several times , and the warriors themselves were more careless about their own footsteps , but seemed to have no desire to partake of food . The first shock of surprise came when the party suddenly emerged from the woods and paused on the bank of a deep , swift stream , fully a hundred yards wide . The current , like the smaller one , was yellow and roiled , and the boy looked upon it with a feeling akin to dismay .