five
o'clock
At ten o'clock there was a halt for two hours for dinner and a short rest ; and it was not until just as they were going to start that the rear-guard arrived , having been delayed by the breaking down of numbers of the camels , many of which had fallen dead as they walked , while others incapable of movement had to be left behind to take their chance of recovering sufficiently to browse upon the bushes and make their way back to the wells . As the loads of those that fell had to be distributed among their already exhausted companions the prospect was far from cheerful . Starting at twelve , the column passed a conical hill known as Gebel El Nur an hour later , and entered a broad valley covered with grass and trees twenty feet high , and where , doubtless , water could be obtained had the force been provided with little Abyssinian pumps . At five o'clock the column halted , and as the ground was sandy passed a more comfortable night than the one before . Every one was in good spirits . The men found the journeys by day far less fatiguing than those at night , and were able to obtain refreshing sleep in the cool night air . Before daybreak they again started over a gravelly plain , hoping to reach the wells of Abu Klea that evening .