about four in the afternoon
Then began the long toilsome ascent through thick bush , the same in which I shot the bull buffalo , only some twenty miles to the west of that spot , and not more than twenty-five miles on the hither side of Wambe 's kraal . There were six or seven miles of this dense bush , and hard work it was to get through it . Next came a belt of scattered forest which was easier to pass , though , in revenge , the ground was steeper . This was about two miles wide , and we passed it by about four in the afternoon . Above this scattered bush lay a long steep slope of boulder-strewn ground , which ran up to the foot of the little peak some three miles away . As we emerged , footsore and weary , on to this inhospitable plain , some of the men looking round caught sight of the spears of Wambe 's impi advancing rapidly not more than a mile behind us . `` At first there was a panic , and the bearers tried to throw off their loads and run , but I harangued them , calling out to them that certainly I would shoot the first man who did so and that if they would but trust in me I would bring them through the mess .