about one o'clock before
The horses seemed to know there was no time to lose . A new spirit took possession of the party . The major 's face glowed as red as the hip that here and there among the almost leafless hedges shone in the sunlight on the ragged brier stem . And yet it was about one o'clock before the work of the day began , for the beaters had to be summoned from various parts , and the small boys with the white flags -- the `` stops '' -- had to be posted so as to check runners . And then the six guns went down over a ploughed field -- half clay and half chalk , and ankle deep -- to the margin of a rapidly running and coffee-colored stream , which three of them had to cross by means of a very shaky plank . Lord Beauregard , Major Stuart , and Macleod remained on this side , keeping a lookout for a straggler , but chiefly concerned with the gradually opening and brightening sky . Then far away they heard a slight tapping on the trees ; and almost at the same moment another sound caused the hearts of the two novices to jump .