noon
I , however , took the precaution to march last of all , fearing lest they should throw away their loads to lighten themselves , or , worse still , the tusks ; for these kind of fellows would be capable of throwing anything away if their own skins were at stake . If the pious Æneas , whose story you were reading to me the other night , had been a mongrel Delagoa Bay native , Anchises would have had a poor chance of getting out of Troy , that is , if he was known to have made a satisfactory will . `` At moonrise we set out again , and with short occasional halts travelled till dawn , when we were forced to rest and eat . Starting once more , about half-past five , we crossed the river at noon . Then began the long toilsome ascent through thick bush , the same in which I shot the bull buffalo , only some twenty miles to the west of that spot , and not more than twenty-five miles on the hither side of Wambe 's kraal . There were six or seven miles of this dense bush , and hard work it was to get through it . Next came a belt of scattered forest which was easier to pass , though , in revenge , the ground was steeper .