two o'clock
But what of the actors ? Did the modern troupe differ so greatly from the two-thousand-year-old cast -- the merchant in ivory and skins who quitted his quiet business at Alexandria to seek adventure and gold , the Romans who went to kill and plunder an inoffensive people , the Nubians who waylaid them , and left their bones to bleach ? Assuredly , looking at the dozen or more dead bodies stretched in a row at his feet , Royson deemed mankind as unchangeable as the desert . * * * * * At two o'clock , when the stars and a new moon were dimly lighting the circle of hills , an Arab vedette reported the approach of a large _ kafila _ from the west . Soon the jingle of accouterments and the cries of camels who scented the oasis heralded the arrival of the main body . When Dick lifted a weary Irene from the saddle he made no pretense of shyness , but kissed her quite heartily . Yet Dick 's tidings caused grave faces in the small circle round the camp-fire .