three o'clock
Four hundred was the number first reported . They may , of course , have already moved away , and on the other hand they may have been joined by others . They were said to have some guns with them , but these will be of little use in the streets of the village , and we shall probably capture them before they have time to fire a single round . '' At three o'clock the troops stood to their arms , and moved noiselessly off towards the positions assigned to them . Captain Mallett led his own company to within four hundred yards of the wall , and then sent Marshall forward with two men to fix the powder bag and fuse to the gate . When they had done this they were to remain quietly there until warned that the company was about to advance ; then they were to light the fuse , which was cut to burn two minutes , to retire round the angle of the wall , and join the company as it came up . The troops lay down , for the ground was level , and there was no spot behind which they could conceal themselves , and impatiently watched the sky until the first gleam of light appeared .