midday
There was nothing rigid about this shield . Its two or three bamboo ribs were as flexible as a whip , with the veiling -- it was hardly more than that -- fluttering below them almost entirely unsupported . In weight , the whole approximated one-twelfth that of a girl , not at all a difficult amount to carry . Within two hours after the report came -- it was near midday -- we were ready to start from the Great City to repel Tao 's attack . Our forces consisted of some six hundred girls , each armed with a light-ray cylinder and a shield . This was the organization I have already mentioned , fifty squads of ten , each with a leader ; and fifty other girls , the most daring and expert in the air , who were to act independently . We had two platforms , protected by the fabric , and with a sort of canopy around the sides underneath , over which the girls grasping the handles could fly .