About three o'clock
So the boys made as good a meal in the darkness as they could , and felt better for it . They also drank sparingly of the water , for they did not know how long the siege would last . It was now about half-past one , and the boys were very anxious for the morning to break . About three o'clock there came a furious firing from behind a hastily constructed entrenchment at the end of the hill opposite where the boys had built their stockade . Most of the bullets buried themselves harmlessly in the soft wood of the pine logs that made the walls of the stockade . The boys replied with accuracy , but they were careful not to waste their ammunition . At last the dawn broke clear , and with the first gleam of light the boys looked eagerly out to see if the enemy still held the hill .