about five o'clock in the morning
`` I think we have got the best of it , certainly , '' Edgar said ; `` for if it comes to leaving the river and pushing on we are sure to be in it . '' The journey from Wady Halfa to Dongola was 235 miles . The day 's march was generally about twenty miles , the halting-places being made at spots previously settled upon , where there were depots of provisions formed for them . The start was made about five o'clock in the morning . For the first two hours the men walked , leading their camels ; then when the sun became hot they mounted and rode the rest of the distance . At first they found the monotonous motion very trying , but became accustomed to it in time , and would even go off to sleep in the saddles , with the result , however , that they were probably shot off if the camel came upon a sudden irregularity of the ground . In the cool of the evening the men bathed in the river , and the officers often went out in search of game , which was found , however , to be very scarce .