eight o'clock in the morning
At last , however , an enterprising sepoy discovered a way , and on the 19th of December a hundred men , under two lieutenants , were ordered to leave Nilt fort under cover of darkness , drop silently down into the bed of the ravine , and there await daylight . `` The portion of the enemy 's position that had been selected for attack was on the extreme left , on the crest of a cliff which rose , without a break , fifteen hundred feet from the bed of the ravine . Another force , a hundred and thirty-five men and six British officers , with two guns , was to cover the advance of the storming party . At eight o'clock in the morning , fire was opened upon the enemy , as it was anticipated that the storming party were well up the cliff by this time ; but unfortunately , after ascending the precipice halfway , they reached a point where the cliff was absolutely impracticable , and were obliged to descend again into the ravine . `` At two o'clock , having discovered a more practicable way , they ascended again , foot by foot ; their commander working his way up with admirable judgment , moving from point to point , as opportunity offered , between the showers of stones . The enemy were now fully aware that the precipice was being scaled , and it was only the well-directed fire of the covering party that prevented them from issuing from their defences , and annihilating the party with rocks and boulders . `` The summit was reached at half-past eleven , and the first of the enemy 's works captured .