about eight o’clock
They understood their duties perfectly . If one of the mules stopped , they urged it on with a guttural cry , and if that proved unavailing , a good-sized pebble , thrown with unerring aim , soon cured the animal 's obstinacy . If a strap got loose , or a rein fell , a PEON came forward instantly , and throwing off his poncho , flung it over his beast 's head till the accident was repaired and the march resumed . The custom of the muleteers is to start immediately after breakfast , about eight o'clock , and not to stop till they camp for the night , about 4 P. M. Glenarvan fell in with the practice , and the first halt was just as they arrived at Arauco , situated at the very extremity of the bay . To find the extremity of the 37th degree of latitude , they would have required to proceed as far as the Bay of Carnero , twenty miles further . But the agents of Glenarvan had already scoured that part of the coast , and to repeat the exploration would have been useless . It was , therefore , decided that Arauco should be the point of departure , and they should keep on from there toward the east in a straight line .