TANDEM DRIVING 123 



with a tandem, with a heavy load and rough 

 roads, about seven and a half to eight miles 

 an hour, which must be considered fair going, 

 and I did about thirty miles a day with the 

 teams. Thus in the morning one team was 

 sent out seven or eight miles. When I over- 

 took it I changed, going on to the place where 

 I halted for breakfast. The pair that came in 

 first went out first in the afternoon, and the 

 change was effected in the same way : all 

 thus, of course, travelled thirty miles, but were 

 in harness for only fifteen. The ponies — 

 ordinary country-bred polo ponies — were never 

 sick or sorry. 



Many amusing little incidents I recollect, 

 but only two adventures. On one stage 

 the evening journey ended at a little police- 

 station. There w^as no regular rest house, 

 but there were a couple of rooms for the 

 use of European or superior native officers 

 when travelling. This stood in the middle of 

 a wide and treeless plain. One day I was 

 driving along quietly as usual when my 

 attention was attracted by thunder growling 

 on the horizon. I looked up, for rain is rare 

 in those parts, but there on three sides were 

 three separate storms creeping along towards 

 us. Tropical thunderstorms and rains are not 

 pleasant to be out in on a bare plain, besides I 



