two o'clock in the afternoon
Strict orders were given that upon the march he was to rely upon the latter alone ; the supply in the skins being for general purposes , such as cooking and making tea . During the halt Edgar applied himself steadily to the work of repairing the water-skins . The camp of the Heavies joined that of the Guards , and he felt that his danger of being recognized by Easton or Skinner was great ; but sitting with a group of others sewing , with his face shaded by his helmet , the risk was very much less than if standing up or moving about the camp . At two o'clock in the afternoon the force paraded and moved off in columns of companies . The Heavy Camel Corps led , the Guards followed , the baggage and stores were in the centre , and the Mounted Infantry in the rear . Many of the camels had to be left behind , and those that remained were only sufficient to carry the absolutely necessary stores , the rations for the men , and a quantity of corn that would suffice but to give two feeds of eight pounds each to the animals , who were , therefore , obliged to depend almost entirely on such sustenance as they could pluck from the mimosa shrubs and the dry yellow grass . The men carried a hundred and seventy rounds each .