FAILURES 231 



him, plus ten rupees, which he charged " for the 

 pony's death, on account of the fright it gave him ! ' J 

 On leaving this camp we made a night march to 

 a place where there was a small bungalow to put 

 up in, which was cooler than a tent in these hot 

 days. Jiwan came to say that everything was 

 ready if I would come and get in my cart. I found 

 there were no ropes for the luggage, and none of it 

 had been tied on. The men in this part of the 

 country make very strong ropes of thinly split 

 bamboo which they twist up in their hands, and I 

 had often sat and watched in admiration the 

 making of them; so ropes were sent for from the 

 village, the things tied on and then there was more 

 delay : the cartmen had thought fit to go off to 

 eat their food ! After some time they came back 

 and the bullocks were yoked. One of my pair 

 jumped about, went off with a rush, nearly upset 

 the cart and then broke away and bolted. It took 

 an hour to find another, as the guard said we must 

 not put the runaway bail in again, he was such a 

 badmash. At last we started in bright moonlight 

 and got along well for a time. We had to go down 

 a long steep hill which led after a very sudden turn 

 into the wide rocky bed of a dry nullah. I was in 

 the leading cart and after many bumps and jolts 

 got safe over and up the other side. Then there 

 were sounds of a cart and oxen rushing down the 

 steep road, great shouting among the men, and down 

 raced the bullocks much too fast to be able to turn 

 at the sudden bend; more shouts and yells at the 

 bullocks, then a bump and a crash, and after that 



