"
At half-past three in the morning the officers of the staff were
called by a native servant and began to make their preparations. They
breakfasted as best they could on coffee without sugar or cream, and
some stale bread, with an egg apiece, and whisky. Sam felt
unaccountably sleepy, and he thought that all the rest looked sleepy
too. It was five o'clock before Burton had the orders ready for the
various subordinate commanders, telling each of them in which direction
to advance. The plan had been mapped out the night before, but the
orders had to be copied and corrected. At last he came out and
distributed them to Stroud, Sam, and several other officers--two orders
to each, yawning painfully as he handed them out.
"I don't think I slept a wink last night," he said.
The two commands to which Sam's orders were directed were stationed on
the extreme right of the army. He made a rough tracing of that part of
the map and set out at once on a wiry little native pony. For some
distance he followed the high-road, but then was obliged to turn into
a branch road which led through the woods, and which soon became a mere
wood-path. Before long he heard firing in front of him, and soon he
recognized the sound of whistling bullets above his head. He found
himself ducking his head involuntarily, and almost for the first time
in his life he was conscious of being afraid.
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