about three o'clock in the afternoon
As I did not wish to be tied on to my horse and carried in that unpleasant and ignominious manner , I had to obey . Climbing into the saddle with some difficulty , we set out towards the village of El Molino at a swinging gallop . The rough motion of the horse I rode increased the pain in my arm till it became intolerable ; then one of the men mercifully bound it up in a sling , after which I was able to travel more comfortably , though still suffering a great deal . The day was excessively warm , and we did not reach our destination till about three o'clock in the afternoon . Just before entering the town we rode through a little army of gauchos encamped on the adjacent plain . Some of them were engaged cooking meat , others were saddling horses , while others , in bodies of twenty or thirty , were going through cavalry exercises , the whole making a scene of wonderful animation . Very nearly all the men wore the ordinary gaucho costume , and those who were exercising carried lances , to which were attached little white , fluttering bannerets .