five o'clock
Planks have been laid in it here and there . Where they have so far sunk in the mud as to proffer their edges to us we slip on them . Sometimes there is enough water to float them , and then under the weight of a man they splash and go under , and the man stumbles or falls , with frenzied imprecations . It must be five o'clock . The stark and affrighting scene unfolds itself to our eyes , but it is still encircled by a great fantastic ring of mist and of darkness . We go on and on without pause , and come to a place where we can make out a dark hillock , at the foot of which there seems to be some lively movement of human beings . `` Advance by twos , '' says the leader of the detachment .