five in the morning
At that very moment Dick , in field uniform , and dripping profusely under the hot sun , was carrying a long succession of planks , each nearly as long and heavy as he could manage , to other cadets who waited to nail them in place on a pontoon bridge out over an arm of the Hudson . Greg Holmes was one of four young men toiling at the rope by which they were endeavoring to drag a mountain howitzer into position up a steep slope near Crow 's Nest , while Anstey , studying field fortification , was digging in a trench with all his might and main . So the weeks slipped by . Up at five in the morning , busy most of the time until six in the evening , the cadets of the first , third and fourth classes found ample time to enjoy themselves between dark and taps , at 10.30 , except when guard duty or something else interfered . Much of the `` idle '' time through the day was spent in short naps , to make up for that short six hours and a half of regular night sleep . Yet all the young men seemed to thrive in their life of hard work and outdoor air . Hazing was proceeding merrily , so far as some of the yearlings were concerned .