noon
The most thoughtful feared that he had a poor chance of reaching a good old age . And yet he developed a wonderful talent for finding water in unexpected places , which was useful to himself and others . Sometimes when men would turn away in disappointment from a mud-hole which was indicated by a native guide as a well , but which proved to be dry , Hump would sniff out some place near , and scratch , and six inches or so below the surface water would begin to ooze and trickle . On January 16th , 1885 , at noon , the column on the march was roused from the lethargy induced by monotonous riding hour after hour under a warm sun by distant firing . `` By Jabers ! '' cried Grady . `` There 's an inimy somewheres after all .