noon
It was the first time that he had run across a bad specimen of the British officer , and his words had stung him . But , as he said to himself , he need not mind them , as the fellow 's own comrades regarded him , as one of them said , as `` an insufferable ass . '' Still , he could not help wishing , to himself , that the missing heir might turn up in time to disappoint him . General Hunter started next day , at noon , with two of his brigades and the mounted troops ; the other two brigades following , at nightfall . The previous night had been one of the most unpleasant Gregory had ever spent . The long-expected rain had come at last . It began suddenly ; there was a flash of lightning , and then came a violent burst of wind , which tore down the tents and the flimsy shelters of the Egyptians and Soudanese .