nine
o'clock
The presence of the women had an excellent effect on the soldiers , and in addition to their assistance in carrying their effects , they cooked their rations , and looked after them generally . The Sirdar , therefore , did not discourage their presence in the field , and even supplied them with rations , when it was impossible for them to obtain them elsewhere . In the afternoon the two white brigades also moved forward . At nine o'clock they arrived at their camping ground , and the whole army was again collected together . Next morning the four squadrons of Egyptian horse , with a portion of the cavalry , went forward to reconnoitre , and one of the gunboats proceeded a few miles up the river . Neither saw anything of the enemy . There had been heavy rain during the night .