one o'clock
The officers had searched the houses , and found some jars of water . These they carried round , and doled out a few mouthfuls to each man . Small though the amount was , the relief afforded was immense and , as soon as their first exhaustion had subsided , the men scattered through the gardens ; plucking the vine leaves and chewing them and , fortunately , discovering a few gourds , which were cut up into small fragments , and divided . The day wore on ; and at one o'clock there was a shout of joy , for a body of cavalry were seen approaching , at a rapid trot , from the town . Soon they rode up , and proved to be a regiment which had been despatched , from the town , for the relief of the stragglers . At daybreak the cavalry , riding in many miles ahead of the infantry , brought the news to the city of the defeat ; and something very like a panic at first ensued . It was some time before anything was done to succor the exhausted fugitives , who were pressing forward to the city .