At six o'clock he awoke, quietly lying on his back.

He gazed straight up into the gray sky and knew that he was hungry.

As he rolled over on his elbow he was startled by a loud snort, and saw a bull caribou regarding him with alert curiosity.

The animal was not mere than fifty feet away, and instantly into the man's mind leaped the vision and the savor of a caribou steak sizzling and frying over a fire.

Mechanically he reached for the empty gun, drew a bead, and pulled the trigger.

The bull snorted and leaped away, his hoofs rattling and clattering as he fled across the ledges.

The man cursed and flung the empty gun from him. He groaned aloud as he started to drag himself to his feet. It was a slow and arduous task.

His joints were like rusty hinges. They worked harshly in their sockets, with much friction, and each bending or unbending was accomplished only through a sheer exertion of will.

When he finally gained his feet, another minute or so was consumed in straightening up, so that he could stand erect as a man should stand.

He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect.