about three o'clock in the afternoon
Indeed , Your Majesty , from head to foot the caravan was miles in reach , its flanks well guarded by groups of horsemen at convenient intervals . '' This statement excited the three counsellors . `` After passing the train , '' the Count was at length permitted to resume , `` my way was through bodies of troops continuously -- all irregulars . It must have been about three o'clock in the afternoon when I came upon the most surprising sight . Much I doubt if ever the noble Captain Justiniani , with all his experience , can recall anything like it . `` First there was a great company of pioneers with tools for grading the hills and levelling the road ; then on a four-wheeled carriage two men stood beating a drum ; their sticks looked like the enlarged end of a galley oar . The drum responded to their blows in rumbles like dull thunder from distant clouds .