three in the afternoon
A mile away on each flank were dark green ridges , but ahead of us there was only a great stretch of glaring white sand . No wind was stirring , and not a drop of moisture . The air was like a breath from a brick oven , and the heat of the sun so fierce that if you touched your fingers to a gun-barrel it burned the flesh . We did not escape out of this lime-kiln until three in the afternoon , when the trail again led us into the protecting shade of the jungle . The men plunged into it as eagerly as though they were diving into water . About four o'clock we heard great cheering ahead of us , and word was passed to the rear that Miller had come in touch with Garcia 's scouts . A half hour later , we marched into the camp of the revolutionists .