five o’clock
The orderly was a man with a sense of military propriety . He insisted on the casualties lying in straight rows , as neatly aligned as if they were on their feet at parade in the barrack square . At last the stream of wounded grew slacker and finally ceased to flow . Between half-past four and five o'clock not a single man came to report himself wounded . McMahon , lighting a fresh pipe , congratulated himself . Either the Colonel 's knowledge of anatomy was exhausted and he was unable to think of any more wounds , or the battle was over , and there was no further excuse for inventing casualties . McMahon got up and stretched himself .