i;2 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SHIKAR 



rolling away. This caused another long wait : the 

 guard had to find first another village, then another 

 cart. The unloading and loading up again took a 

 considerable time as well, and we started once 

 more. Before we had gone a hundred yards one 

 of the wheels of the new cart slid off, and broke the 

 iron pin that pegged it on. As we knew where to 

 find the village this time, it did not take so long 

 to fetch a new pin. The wheel was put in place and 

 fastened on, and then, with the exception of stopping 

 every ten minutes to hammer the peg into its place 

 again, we did quite a long stretch without any mis- 

 haps, and got to a wide river about dawn. There 

 was too much water for the loaded carts to get 

 through, so the things were taken off, and some men 

 who lived in a small but providential village on the 

 other bank came over and helped to carry the 

 luggage across, and the bullocks and empty carts 

 followed. I ordered a rest in the village, but the 

 servants, who had not brought enough food with them 

 and could get nothing here, asked if we could not 

 go on at once. So with some fresh bullocks we started 

 again, for Nandgaon, where they had been told they 

 could buy flour or what they wanted. 



This time we travelled slowly and surely, and, 

 after hammering our wheel-pin in about fifty times, 

 reached Nandgaon in the afternoon, where every one 

 had a good rest and food. I calculated, from what the 

 people there said, that we had about ten more miles 

 to do to get to Rajoli station, and I wanted to catch 

 the train at eight in the morning of Friday : so I 

 settled to start at ten o'clock that night. As we were 



