six o'clock
He rode back to his temporary chief just as an Indian bullet had whizzed in front of the major 's nose and made his eyes almost pop from his head . `` Do n't you see , '' he urged , reproachfully , `` how very much more they are around us ? If Truman or Cranston needed help they would have let us know long ago . '' After a brisk gallop of three or four miles up the valley of the Ska , the troopers of the -- th had permitted the stampeded ponies to take things more leisurely , and so it resulted that by six o'clock many of their number were stopping occasionally to nibble at the grass which grew here luxuriantly , but there was , all the same , a steady , persistent movement of the living mass , -- an enforced migration at the rate of at least three miles an hour . Well out on the foot-hills Canker 's troop had thrown its flankers , while the other in long skirmish line , with appropriate reserves , interposed between the herd and possible Indian attack from the north . The eastern banks of the Ska along here were high and steep , and the stream flowed deep and rapid at their base , so attack from that quarter was not to be dreaded . All the same , occasional warriors could be seen along the bluff , scampering from point to point , firing long-range chance shots at the officers or men distinguishable through the edge of the dust-cloud , but venturing no closer .