ten o'clock
The next morning we were up before daylight , preparing breakfast and attending to the horses , and before the sun was ready to show his face , we were in the saddle , and on our way to the banks of the Lodden , driving the pack horse before us at an easy canter , and enjoying all the beauties of the morning . We avoided the road which led to Melbourne , and upon which some forty or fifty poor devils were working out their mining tax , and by a cut across the country , in the direction of Mount Tarrengower , were enabled to save some few miles of travel , as well as to avoid answering questions from those whom we met on the road . The latter is no slight labor , as every person on a journey to the mines is desirous of asking the latest news , and whether the gold is as abundant as ever . By ten o'clock we found that our animals began to suffer from the heat , and as our appetites were pretty well sharpened , we called a halt beneath the shadow of some gum trees , relieved our horses of their saddles , and wet their mouths with water , and after a hearty lunch , leaned back and smoked our pipes with delicious contentment , and without a thought of danger . We were soon unconscious of every thing around us , and did not awake until past four o'clock , when we once more resumed our journey , and by sundown we had gained a small brook within a few miles of Mount Alexander . Here we proposed to pass the night , and after watering the animals , and stalling them in a good piece of fresh grass , we began to make provision for rest . We had no desire to kindle a fire , for the country in which we were travelling was not entirely safe , and a light would have only attracted attention , which we were desirous of avoiding .