noon
The earliest riser found him there ; the latest night wanderer came upon him . When the day broke , after the falling of the dreadful night , the brave or the thirsty who ventured forth saw him at his post , silent , unastonished , unafraid . Once only the soldier had been seen to flinch . Merenra , now nomarch of Bubastis , but whilom commander over Israel at Pa-Ramesu , paused one noon with his train at the well . The governor glanced at the soldier , glanced again , shrugged his shoulders and rode away . The man-at-arms winced , and often thereafter stood in abstracted contemplation of the distance . Just after sunrise on the second day following the passing of the darkness , four Egyptians , lank , big-footed and brown , came from the northeast .