noon
`` The leader glancing left and right . '' I repeated it to myself , and scowled up at the trees and into the jungle . It was a tremendous feeling to be a `` leader . '' At noon the heat was very great , and Laguerre halted the column at a little village and ordered the men to eat their luncheon . I posted pickets , appointed a detail to water the mules , and asked two of the inhabitants for the use of their clay ovens . In the other troops each man , or each group of men , were building separate fires and eating alone or in messes of five or six but by detailing four of my men to act as cooks for the whole troop , and six others to tend the fires in the ovens , and six more to carry water for the coffee , all of my men were comfortably fed before those in the other troops had their fires going . Von Ritter had said to me that during the two weeks in camp the men had used up all their tobacco , and that their nerves were on edge for lack of something to smoke .