ten o'clock
Can you beat it ? '' The hours dragged wearily on . We had no food , and Maggs , who had eaten the last of his provisions twenty-four hours before -- the British soldier is a bad hoarder -- soon consumed the last of my cigarettes . It was past ten o'clock when I heard a step outside . The next moment Francis came in , white and breathless . `` They 're beating the forest for us , '' he panted . `` The place is full of men .