Eleven o'clock
It was a surly night , cold and raw with a drizzling rain . Nevertheless , this was their first approach to anything even remotely resembling active service , and the men sought it eagerly . By dint of attaching himself to the Captain 's elbow and assuming that his going was an understood thing , Weldon accomplished his aim . Eleven o'clock found him , wet to his skin , sneaking on the points of his toes through the thick grass beyond the river , with nineteen other men sneaking at his heels . There had been no especial pretext of Boers in the neighborhood ; tactical thoroughness merely demanded a guard on the farther side of the river . Nevertheless , the enthusiastic fellows threw themselves into the game with the same spirit with which , twenty years before , they had faced the danger of a runaway by the tandem of rampant hall chairs . A stray Boer or two would have made an interesting diversion ; but , even without the Boers , a night guard in the open possessed its own interest .