four o'clock
Great speed means great exhaustion , and consequently greater demand for water . Nevertheless , they risked the chance of a dry spell at the journey 's end , and , finally , despite Irene 's protests against being left behind , Royson and Abdullah , with six of the _ Aphrodite 's _ men , and Abdur Kad ` r , at the head of thirty picked Arabs , went on at a spanking pace . They were now on the actual caravan path , having reached it by a cross-country line . According to the sheikh 's calculations , they were ten miles from the Well of Moses at four o'clock , and sunset would take place at half-past six . The road was a bad one , and their camels were beginning to lag , but they counted on reaching the ancient camping-ground about half past five . Abdullah was the first to discover recent signs of a large _ kafila _ having passed that way . He it was , too , who raised a warning hand when they emerged from a wide valley and crossed a plateau , which , roughly speaking , was three miles from the well .