about ten o'clock
A battalion of infantry passed along as he sat there , marching towards Gibraltar . Two or three long lines of laden carts passed by , in the same direction . He had consulted a map before starting , and knew that the distance to Malaga was more than twenty leagues ; and that the first place of any importance was Estepona , about eight leagues from Gibraltar , and that before the siege a large proportion of the supplies of fruit and vegetables were brought to Gibraltar from this town . Starting as soon as it became dark , he passed through Estepona at about ten o'clock ; looked in at a wine shop , and sat down to a pint of wine and some bread ; and then continued his journey until , taking it quietly , he was in sight of Marbella . He slept in a grove of trees until daylight , and then entered the town , which was charmingly situated among orange groves . Going into a fonda -- or tavern -- he called for breakfast . When he had eaten this , he leisurely strolled down to the port and , taking his seat on a block of stone , on the pier , watched the boats .