eight o'clock
To rush headlong across that intervening open space , through deep and muddy pools and stagnant ditch , and hurl themselves upon the lurking enemy in the bamboo copse beyond , had been the ardent longing of the line since daylight came to illumine the field before them . Yet stern orders withheld : Defend , but do not advance , said the General 's message ; and the whisper went along from man to man . `` There is trouble in town behind us , and the chief may need us there . '' But , as eight o'clock passed with no word of uprising in the rear , and the cheering over toward Santa Ana grew loud and louder , the nerve strain upon the -- teenth became well-nigh intolerable . `` For God 's sake , ca n't we be doing something instead of lying here firing into a hornet 's nest ? '' was the murmur that arose in more than one company along the impatient line ; and the gruff voices of veteran sergeants could be heard ordering silence , while , moving up and down behind their men , the line officers cautioned against waste of ammunition and needless exposure . `` Lie flat , men .