about nine o'clock
They jabbered and shrugged their shoulders , saying that we were mad and should perish of thirst , which I must say seemed probable ; but being desirous of obtaining the knives , which were almost unknown treasures up there , they consented to come , having probably reflected that , after all , our subsequent extinction would be no affair of theirs . All next day we rested and slept , and at sunset ate a hearty meal of fresh beef washed down with tea , the last , as Good remarked sadly , we were likely to drink for many a long day . Then , having made our final preparations , we lay down and waited for the moon to rise . At last , about nine o'clock , up she came in all her glory , flooding the wild country with light , and throwing a silver sheen on the expanse of rolling desert before us , which looked as solemn and quiet and as alien to man as the star-studded firmament above . We rose up , and in a few minutes were ready , and yet we hesitated a little , as human nature is prone to hesitate on the threshold of an irrevocable step . We three white men stood by ourselves . Umbopa , assegai in hand and a rifle across his shoulders , looked out fixedly across the desert a few paces ahead of us ; while the hired natives , with the gourds of water , and Ventvögel , were gathered in a little knot behind .