About nine o'clock
However , '' he concluded emphatically , `` one thing I do know : rain , cold , hunger , discomfort , curses , kicks , and violent deaths included , there is n't one of you grumblers who would hold that gardening job you spoke of three days ! '' Dawn broke , so we descended through wet grasses to the canon . There , after some difficulty , we managed to start a fire , and so ate breakfast , the rain still pouring down on us . About nine o'clock , with miraculous suddenness , the torrent stopped . It began to turn cold . The Cattleman and I decided to climb to the top of the butte after meat , which we entirely lacked . It was rather a stiff ascent , but once above the sheer cliffs we found ourselves on a rolling meadow tableland a half-mile broad by , perhaps , a mile and a half in length .