When the gray dawn broke above the trees, he got up stiff with cold; and, after eating his share of a very frugal breakfast, he carefully examined his rifle.

Though he kept it clean of superfluous grease, there was some risk of the striker and magazine-slide freezing; and a missfire might prove disastrous.
Glancing up between the branches, he noticed the low, dingy sky; although he thought it was not quite so cold.
"I'm going to look for a caribou," he said.

"I'll be back by dark." "We'll have snow," Harding warned him.

"If there's much, you'll find it hard to get home." "I'd find it harder to do without breakfast and supper, which is what may happen very soon." "Anyway, you had better take one of us along." "With the ax ?" Blake said, laughing.

"It's bad enough to reach a caribou with a rifle.