half past ten
At times he even wished he might hear the cry of a jackal or of some larger beast of prey in the distance ; and he wished that the wind would blow a little louder , instead of making that little wheezing sound as it passed the corners of the stones . He looked down at his gun , which lay cocked ready on the ground at his right side ; and from time to time he raised his hand automatically and fingered the cartridges in his belt . Then he stretched out his small wiry hands to the fire and warmed them . It was only half past ten , and it seemed to him he had been sitting here ten hours at the least . After a while he threw two more large logs on the fire , and took the flask out of his pocket . He examined it carefully by the firelight to see how much it held : then he took a small draught , and examined it again to see how much it had fallen ; and put it back in his breast pocket . Then Trooper Peter Halket fell to thinking .