To Build A Fire

from JACK LONDON, "TO BUILD A FIRE" "Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o'clock." The opening sentences …

…another sunrise. After reaching the top of the bank, the man finally stops to take a rest. This final pause is meaningful primarily as another potential sign of warning. In other words, as cold as it is, and being (as he is) already out of breath, the man, we would think, might consider once more the course he has chosen. Instead, however, he goes on, without a single worry about the possible death awaiting him.