WILD DOGS 175 



luxurious travelling, but then well then, the train 

 broke down ! It was after dark, and there we stuck 

 at some lone spot for hours. It was the engine's 

 fault, it refused to go up an incline, being too heavily 

 loaded. It kept on trying to whistle, but was so 

 husky it could hardly make a sound. After a time 

 it began to puff and we ran back a few yards, and 

 stopped again. They tinkered it up at last, and it 

 tried to whistle again, and after various stoppages 

 we ran back into the station we had left. The station- 

 master said he was taking off some goods wagons, 

 and that with luck we should get in to Gondia 

 some time ! We did get there. All was dark, it 

 was cloudy, no moon, no lamps. The whole station 

 was undergoing repairs, and I got out on to heaps 

 of stones and mortar; the Refreshment Room was 

 shut up and in darkness. Govind hammered up the 

 refreshment man and he came, looking very sleepy. 

 He lit a lamp and said there was nothing to be got 

 to eat at that hour, but showed me a dusty row of 

 tins of soup. I chose Cocky-leekie, which he said 

 was good, and he warmed it up : the leeky part 

 was quite nice, but the cocky part of it was very 

 tough and stringy. The mail train came in at some 

 early a.m. time; Govind and Arjun managed some- 

 how, in the dark, to get all the luggage stowed in, 

 then all was well. 



