five o'clock
There were moments when I thought to go mad , wrenching at my cords till my wrists bled , yet with no hope to escape . But in time , by good luck , my wits grew deaden 'd to it all , and I march 'd on with the rest to a kind of lugubrious singsong that my brain supplied . For hours I went thus , counting my steps , missing my reckoning , and beginning again . Daylight was failing when the towers of Bristol grew clear out of the leaden mist in front ; and by five o'clock we halted outside the walls and beside the ditch of the castle , waiting for the drawbridge to be let down . Already a great crowd had gather 'd about us , of those who had come out to learn news of the defeat , which , the day before some fugitives had carried to Bristol . To their questions , as to all else , I listen 'd like a man in a trance : and recall this only -- that first I was shivering out in the rain and soon after was standing beside Delia , under guard of a dozen soldiers , and shaking with cold , beneath a gateway that led between the two wards of the castle . And there , for an hour at least , we kick 'd our heels , until from the inner ward Captain Stubbs came striding and commanded us to follow .