ten o'clock
We may be killed , but if we keep them back even for a little God will bless us . So be steady at your posts . '' The garrison was soon dispersed , the guns in readiness , pointing up the valley . It was ten o'clock by Thwaite 's watch ere the last click of the loaders told that Bardur was awaiting an enemy . The town behind was in an uproar , men clamouring at the gates , and seeking passports to flee to the south . Chinese and Turcoman traders from Leh and Lhassa , Yarkand and Bokhara , with scared faces , were getting their goods together and invoking their mysterious gods . Logan , who had returned from Gilgit that very day , rode breathless into the yard , clamouring for Thwaite .