ten o'clock
`` No twilight . The tropics ! '' He managed to dig that word out of the past in a moment . At ten o'clock the sun was so hot that they halted , and let the oxen loose till sun-down . Then they began to climb the mountains . The way was steep and rugged ; indeed , so rough in places , that the cattle had to jump over the holes , and as the wagon could not jump so cleverly , it jolted appallingly , and many a scream issued forth . Near the summit , when the poor beasts were dead beat , they got into clouds and storms , and the wind rushed howling at them through the narrow pass with such fury it flattened the horses ' ears , and bade fair to sweep the whole cavalcade to the plains below .