midnight
There was no time for more . The journey up Nile proved long for the road was bad being covered with drifted sand in some places and deep in mud from the inundation waters in others . At length I found the troops just starting forward after their rest , and rejoiced to see that there were more of them than I had thought . I told the case to their captains , who promised to make a forced march and to be in Memphis two hours before midnight . As we drove back Bes said to me suddenly , `` Do you know why you could not find me this morning ? '' I answered that I did not . `` Because a good slave should always run a pace ahead of his master , to clear the road and tell him of its pitfalls .