six o'clock
The rest of the men , with the exception of ten told off for special duty , were dispersed round the walls , to check the advance of the footmen , who crept daringly to within a short distance , and kept up a rolling fire around the village . At five o'clock half of the men were taken off the walls , and several were set to build a wall four feet high , in a semicircle just inside the gate , which had been struck by several shots , and showed signs of yielding . Two or three of the nearest huts were demolished rapidly , there being plenty of native tools in the village , and a rough wall was constructed of the materials ; a trench five feet deep and eight feet wide was simultaneously dug across the entrance . At six o'clock , just as the wall was finished , an unlucky shot struck one of the doorposts , and the gate fell , dragging the other post with it . A distant yell of triumph came through the air . The gates fell partly across the trench . `` Now , lads , push them back a bit if you can ; if not , knock the part over the ditch to pieces ; it 's half-smashed already . ''