three hours after noon
The slaves , wearied as they were , quickened in their pace ; and in two hours they emerged from the mountain gorges onto the temperate plateau . Here they halted for some hours near a post house , a courier being sent on to Tepeaca , to inform the king 's envoys that they had arrived thus far ; and to ask whether they should proceed at noon , when the slaves had rested , or make their entry into the town in the morning . In a little over four hours the answer was received . The merchants were directed to wait where they were until three hours after noon , then to move forward until they arrived within eight miles of the town , and then to halt for the night , and to start again at sunrise next morning . Roger was as glad as were the slaves that he had not another fifteen miles ' march before him , for the journey had been a most fatiguing one . He thought that the absolute distance traversed did not exceed thirty miles , but owing to the difficulties of the road , and the care that had to be taken in traversing it at night , even with the assistance of the torches carried by the soldiers of the caravan , it had taken them twenty hours , including occasional halts , to perform the journey . An abundance of food was brought in by the neighboring villagers , and the merchants issued an extra supply of cocoa to the slaves ; and when the march was resumed , late in the afternoon , the latter had completely recovered from their fatigue .