four o'clock
You also know that his numerical advantage -- possibly counter-balanced by the greater steadiness of the regular troops on the other side -- and the advantages he derived from falling by surprise upon an army that was more or less asleep , were all lost to him by blundering and bad leadership before ever he was at grips with Feversham . The armies came into collision in the neighbourhood of two o'clock in the morning . Mr. Blood slept undisturbed through the distant boom of cannon . Not until four o'clock , when the sun was rising to dispel the last wisps of mist over that stricken field of battle , did he awaken from his tranquil slumbers . He sat up in bed , rubbed the sleep from his eyes , and collected himself . Blows were thundering upon the door of his house , and a voice was calling incoherently . This was the noise that had aroused him .