four in the morning
There had been no especial pretext of Boers in the neighborhood ; tactical thoroughness merely demanded a guard on the farther side of the river . Nevertheless , the enthusiastic fellows threw themselves into the game with the same spirit with which , twenty years before , they had faced the danger of a runaway by the tandem of rampant hall chairs . A stray Boer or two would have made an interesting diversion ; but , even without the Boers , a night guard in the open possessed its own interest . By four in the morning , the interest had waned perceptibly . The establishment of their force in a convenient hut and the placing of pickets had served to occupy an hour or so . After that , nothing happened . The storm was increasing .