ten o'clock in the morning
Ryan , after silently cursing his bad luck at having arrived at the spot just as this body of cavalry were crossing , wondered what evil fortune had sent them there , at that precise moment . He was not long in arriving at a conclusion . The convoy of the French wounded had arrived at Zamora , late in the evening ; and the commandant , thinking it likely that the enemy , who had hitherto blocked the roads , might have concentrated for the attack on the column , had decided upon sending off a squadron of cavalry to carry the important news he had learned , from the wounded , of the defeat of the column , five thousand strong , coming to his relief from Valladolid . The party proceeded at a brisk trot , and , meeting with no resistance , arrived at Salamanca by ten o'clock in the morning . The officer in command at once rode with Ryan , the latter guarded by four troopers , to the residence of the general . Leaving Dick with his escort outside , he entered the house , and sent in his name , and the duty with which he was charged , to the general . He was at once shown into his room .