five o'clock
It is past eleven , and we have but four and a half hours to sleep . '' At half-past three the troops were roused . They were surprised at the early call , for they had expected two or three days ' rest , after the heavy work of the last eight days ; but the company officers soon learned the news from their majors and , as it quickly spread through the ranks , the men were at once alert and ready . Fording the river , they marched at a rapid pace by the road to Coimbra and , soon after five o'clock , arrived within a few hundred yards of the town . Then they were halted and broken up into four columns , which were to enter the town at different points . The signal for moving was to be the sound of a body of cavalry , galloping along the road . Terence listened attentively for the rattle of musketry in the distance , but all was quiet ; and he had little doubt that the French had been surprised , and captured , without a shot being fired .