He crawled inside under the mosquito bar with various things from the pack to put at the head of the bed under the slant of the canvas.
Inside the tent the light came through the brown canvas.
It smelled pleasantly of canvas.
Already there was something mysterious and homelike.
Nick was happy as he crawled inside the tent.
He had not been unhappy all day.
This was different though.
Now things were done.
There had been this to do.
Now it was done.
It had been a hard trip.
He was very tired.
That was done.
He had made his camp.
He was settled.
Nothing could touch him.
It was a good place to camp.
He was there, in the good place.
He was in his home where he had made it.
Now he was hungry.
He came out, crawling under the cheesecloth.
It was quite dark outside.
It was lighter in the tent.
Nick went over to the pack and found, with his fingers, a long nail in a paper sack of nails, in the bottom of the pack.
He drove it into the pine tree, holding it close and hitting it gently with the flat of the ax.
He hung the pack up on the nail.
All his supplies were in the pack.
They were off the ground and sheltered now.
Nick was hungry.
He did not believe he had ever been hungrier.
He opened and emptied a can at pork and beans and a can of spaghetti into the frying pan.
"I've got a right to eat this kind of stuff, if I'm willing to carry it," Nick said.
His voice sounded strange in the darkening woods.
He did not speak again.
He started a fire with some chunks of pine he got with the ax from a stump.
Over the fire he stuck a wire grill, pushing the tour legs down into the ground with his boot.
Nick put the frying pan and a can of spaghetti on the grill over the flames.
He was hungrier.
The beans and spaghetti warmed.
Nick stirred them and mixed them together.
They began to bubble, making little bubbles that rose with difficulty to the surface.
There was a good smell.
Nick got out a bottle of tomato ketchup and cut four slices of bread.
The little bubbles were coming faster now.
Nick sat down beside the fire and lifted the frying pan off.
He poured about half the contents out into the tin plate.
It spread slowly on the plate.
Nick knew it was too hot.
He poured on some tomato ketchup.
He knew the beans and spaghetti were still too hot.