about a quarter after
three o'clock in the morning
The first watch was taken by the captain , with me for his subordinate ; and I was given the command of the party of six guarding the shore approach to the camp , while the skipper took the party mounting guard near the boats , as it was his opinion that if danger threatened it was most likely to come by way of the river . My instructions were to march my men out to a distance of not more than two cables ' lengths from the camp , and there take such cover as might be possible . At first sight it did not appear that there was the least bit of cover of any description available , for the spit or peninsula on which we were encamped was just bare sand for a distance of fully a mile from the spot whereon our camp was pitched , and then there began a growth of scrubby bush which gradually became more dense as one proceeded in a southerly direction ; but I solved the difficulty by causing each man to scoop a little pit for himself in the loose sand , in which it was easy for him to crouch perfectly concealed particularly as there was no moon , and the light from the stars was not strong enough to reveal objects at a distance much beyond a quarter of a mile . The first , second , and third watches passed uneventfully ; but the fourth watch was little more than half through when -- about a quarter after three o'clock in the morning -- the whole camp was roused from its slumbers by the sound of musket-shots , one from the party guarding the boats and the river approach , quickly followed by three in rapid succession from the contingent that occupied the sand pits stretched across the neck of the peninsula . Then three or four more shots from the river party spurted out , and it began to dawn upon us that the matter threatened to be serious . Of course none of us had thought of discarding any of our clothing that night , the second shot therefore had scarcely pealed out upon the night air before we in the camp were upon our feet , with our weapons in our hands , and all drawn up in regular array ready for the next move in the game , with the skipper in command . `` Where are Mr Fortescue and Mr Copplestone ? ''