three in the morning
There were a hundred rounds per gun for the artillery , but only a thousand rounds were brought for the Gardner gun , a quantity sufficient but for five minutes ' work when in action . The journey was over a gravelly plain , and the halt was made at six o'clock in the evening . Fires were lit of the shrubs and dry grass ; the camels were unloaded and fed , and were ranged in such order that in case of attack the troops could form square at the angles of the mass , and thus support each other and protect the convoy . At three in the morning the trumpets and bugles sounded . The fires were soon blazing again , and at half-past four breakfast had been eaten , the camels loaded , and the column on its march again . At ten o'clock there was a halt for two hours for dinner and a short rest ; and it was not until just as they were going to start that the rear-guard arrived , having been delayed by the breaking down of numbers of the camels , many of which had fallen dead as they walked , while others incapable of movement had to be left behind to take their chance of recovering sufficiently to browse upon the bushes and make their way back to the wells . As the loads of those that fell had to be distributed among their already exhausted companions the prospect was far from cheerful .