about three o’clock in the
afternoon
But they had galloped farther than they thought , and it was midday before they came to what they took to be the road . As there was no spoor upon it , they followed this track backwards , expecting to find the waggon outspanned , but although they rode for mile upon mile , no waggon could they see . Then , realizing their mistake , they retraced their steps , and leaving this path at the spot where they had found it , struck off again to the right . Meanwhile , the sky was darkening , and at about three o'clock in the afternoon a thunderstorm broke over them accompanied by torrents of icy rain , the first fall of the spring , and a bitter wind which chilled them through . More , after the heavy rain came drizzle and a thick mist that deepened as evening approached . Now their plight was very wretched . Lost , starved , soaked to the skin , with tired horses one of which was lame , they wandered about on the lonely veld .