eight o'clock
Presently Stewart 's horse went splashing into a shallow pool . Beyond that damp places in the sand showed here and there , and again more water in rocky pockets . Stewart kept on . It was eight o'clock by Madeline 's watch when , upon turning into a wide hollow , she saw horses grazing on spare grass , a great pile of canvas-covered bundles , and a fire round which cowboys and two Mexican women were busy . Madeline sat her horse and reviewed her followers as they rode up single file . Her guests were in merry mood , and they all talked at once . `` Breakfast -- and rustle , '' called out Stewart , without ceremony .