eight o'clock sharp
In fact , I lit my pipe and smoked , and began to figure how much it was going to cost the Confederacy to `` celebrate '' that way . It was costing them at the rate of fourteen dollars a minute , and I actually found myself laughing at the good joke on the rebels . Pretty soon a courier rode up , from the general , asking if the shelling was delaying the bridge . I sent word back that it was not delaying us in the least ; in fact , it was hurrying us a little , if anything , and he could send along his command twenty-seven minutes sooner than I had calculated , as the bridge would be ready to cross on at eight o'clock sharp . At a quarter to eight , just as the daylight was fading , and we had lighted pine torches to see to eat our supper , an orderly rode up and said the general and staff had been looking for me for an hour , and were down at the forks of the road . I told the orderly to bring the general and staff right up to the headquarters , and we would entertain them to the best of our ability , and he rode off . Then we sat down under a tree and smoked and played seven up by the light of pine torches , and waited .