Four o'clock
The rest was simple . It amounted to riding back to the column to give warning of the enemy who rode close in the rear , to summoning Kruger Bobs and The Nig , and then , without stopping for a saddle , to go galloping away to the sky-line to round up the stampeded herd . The first dash of hail over , the rain fell fast upon them ; but , above its roar , they could hear the steady firing of the pom pom behind them and the crackle of musketry mingled with the heavier fire . Four o'clock had brought the stampede and the storm . Seven o'clock brought Weldon and Kruger Bobs , drenched to the skin , back into a demoralized camp . Nine o'clock found Weldon still in the saddle , his teeth chattering , his brown cheeks ablaze and his eyes hot with fever , while he waited for the pitching of his tattered tent . Then , even before its soggy , torn folds were stretched and pegged into position , he turned and rode off in search of a doctor .