four o'clock
Kismine knew a heavily wooded spot half-way up where they could lie concealed and yet be able to observe the wild night in the valley -- finally to make an escape , when it should be necessary , along a secret path laid in a rocky gully . It was three o'clock when they attained their destination . The obliging and phlegmatic Jasmine fell off to sleep immediately , leaning against the trunk of a large tree , while John and Kismine sat , his arm around her , and watched the desperate ebb and flow of the dying battle among the ruins of a vista that had been a garden spot that morning . Shortly after four o'clock the last remaining gun gave out a clanging sound , and went out of action in a swift tongue of red smoke . Though the moon was down , they saw that the flying bodies were circling closer to the earth . When the planes had made certain that the beleaguered possessed no further resources they would land and the dark and glittering reign of the Washingtons would be over . With the cessation of the firing the valley grew quiet .