midnight
The sheik and three of his principal followers mounted behind the riders of the other four camels . The rest proceeded on foot , two men being left behind at the fort with instructions that when the eight men who had gone on to the other wady returned with their own camels and the seventeen camels of the dervishes , all were to be loaded up to the extent of their power with the bundles of forage that had done such good service as the basis of the fort , for the supply at the wady had been very nearly all cut down , and food would be required for the camels until a fresh supply sprang up . The wady was reached at sunset , and a messenger was at once sent off to the spot where , in accordance with the sheik 's orders , the women and children with the camels were halted until news should arrive of the result of the fight . It was six miles away , and it was midnight when the party arrived . Great fires had been lighted , and there was a scene of the liveliest rejoicing as the women and children arrived . There was no thought of sleep that night . The story of the battle was told over and over again , every incident being rehearsed with appropriate gesture , and even the friends of the six who had fallen restrained their grief for the time , partly from pride that they had died so honourably , partly because any show of grief would have been out of place amid the rejoicings for so great an exploit .