about two o'clock in
the morning
Go where you will you find him , and so it must have been always . I have seen him enclosed in amber , which is , I was told , quite half a million years old , looking exactly like his descendant of to-day , and I have little doubt but that when the last man lies dying on the earth he will be buzzing round -- if this event happens to occur in summer -- watching for an opportunity to settle on his nose . At sunset we halted , waiting for the moon to rise . At last she came up , beautiful and serene as ever , and , with one halt about two o'clock in the morning , we trudged on wearily through the night , till at last the welcome sun put a period to our labours . We drank a little and flung ourselves down on the sand , thoroughly tired out , and soon were all asleep . There was no need to set a watch , for we had nothing to fear from anybody or anything in that vast untenanted plain . Our only enemies were heat , thirst , and flies , but far rather would I have faced any danger from man or beast than that awful trinity .