ten o'clock
Fires were lit of the shrubs and dry grass ; the camels were unloaded and fed , and were ranged in such order that in case of attack the troops could form square at the angles of the mass , and thus support each other and protect the convoy . At three in the morning the trumpets and bugles sounded . The fires were soon blazing again , and at half-past four breakfast had been eaten , the camels loaded , and the column on its march again . At ten o'clock there was a halt for two hours for dinner and a short rest ; and it was not until just as they were going to start that the rear-guard arrived , having been delayed by the breaking down of numbers of the camels , many of which had fallen dead as they walked , while others incapable of movement had to be left behind to take their chance of recovering sufficiently to browse upon the bushes and make their way back to the wells . As the loads of those that fell had to be distributed among their already exhausted companions the prospect was far from cheerful . Starting at twelve , the column passed a conical hill known as Gebel El Nur an hour later , and entered a broad valley covered with grass and trees twenty feet high , and where , doubtless , water could be obtained had the force been provided with little Abyssinian pumps . At five o'clock the column halted , and as the ground was sandy passed a more comfortable night than the one before .