Five o’clock
And no man has known what to believe amongst the divided councils of the Allies . The men amongst the vineyards are plucking and sucking the grapes . The sun grows hotter and hotter , and there is so dreary a silence in these waiting hours that the angry neigh of a horse is heard for a mile along the line . Five o'clock when we began to move , and here is high noon , and impatience all on edge , and nothing done . The staff comes cantering back , and another hour goes by in silence ; and then from the Highlanders half a mile away on the left of the handful of cavalry there rises a sound of jubilation . And round the camp fires at night , when the fight is over and the English are in possession of the field , the men learn the reason of the cry . Sir Colin Campbell has sent round the word that the men are to break their cartridge packets , and lay the cartridges loose in their pouches , and this is the first word of real business .