noon
This also the officer eventually conceded , after carefully considering the matter for about a quarter of an hour , meanwhile the oxen were driven very nearly mad by the vain efforts of the soldiers to round them up and drive them towards the wagon . At length , after a tremendous amount of unnecessary confusion and trouble , the oxen were inspanned , and with the usual unearthly yells and loud cracking of the long whip by Jantje , mounted upon the wagon box , the creaking , lumbering vehicle was got under way , Ramoo Samee following close behind and leading the horses , while the dogs and Leo came to heel and trotted along close behind Grosvenor and Dick , as was their wont when their masters chose to walk , which was not very often . As for the soldiers , they arranged themselves as a cordon round the entire cortege , the officer in command leading the way . This order was maintained until the noon outspan , when the officer , after some pressing , laid aside his aloofness sufficiently to accept Grosvenor 's invitation to join him and Dick at luncheon . This proved to be the thin end of the wedge , so to speak ; for the man could scarcely sit at the same table with his two prisoners , partake of their fare , and still preserve his original attitude of silence toward them ; indeed it soon became evident that he was consumed with curiosity concerning the two people who had travelled such a distance with such few retainers ; who seemed to have absolutely no knowledge of what fear was ; and who apparently numbered lions as well as dogs among their domestic animals . He began by making a few tentative remarks , to which Grosvenor responded at some length , and then suddenly demanded , with an air of astonishment that he made scarcely any effort to conceal , how it came about that he , Grosvenor , a total stranger , was able to communicate with a native of the country in what was practically his own language . Then Grosvenor entered into a long explanation , involving a brief history of the principal seats of learning in England , with the methods and subjects of study pursued therein , and including the interesting fact that Hebrew , being commonly regarded as one of the most ancient tongues in the world , was there regarded as especially worthy of attention .