The man starts out with only a slight awareness of how cold it is. He wants to get to the mining camp at Henderson Creek so he can whip his biscuits out of his sweaty shirt and fill them with greasy bacon. Yum! Plus is buddies are waiting for him there, keeping the fire warm. There's a dog walking at his heels, and only the dog seems to realize how crazy cold it is. The narrator in these early scenes is very (perhaps overly) expository in its direct commentary on the man's "trouble" (3), insisting before the story's even underway that the man is "without imagination" (3). Way to let us decide for ourselves, dear narrator.