about
two in the afternoon
Towards the end of the week , and notably on a Saturday , every passer-by is an unshorn brigand capable of the darkest deeds of villany , while twenty-four hours later the land will be found to be peopled by as clean and honest and smart , and withal as handsome , a race of men as any on earth . Before long all habitations were left behind , and the horses climbed from rock to rock like cats . There was no suggestion of pathway or landmark , and Concepçion paused once or twice to take his bearings . It was about two in the afternoon when , after descending the bed of a stream long since dried up , Concepçion called a halt , and proposed to rest the horses while he dined . As on the previous day , the guide 's manner was that of a gentleman , conferring a high honour with becoming modesty when he sat down beside Conyngham and untied his small sack of provisions . These consisted of dried figs and bread , which he offered to his companion before beginning to eat . Conyngham shared his own stock of food with his guide , and subsequently smoked a cigarette which that gentleman offered him .