268 THE TROUT ARE RISING 
man maps out his steps before he begins his 
journey ” were swept overboard, and we resolved 
that should things go amiss there would be no 
rebellious spirit. We (my friend is on the Johan- 
nesburg Stock Exchange) were buoyed up with 
hopes of what Charles Lamb called the “ spritely 
infusion of chance.” 
It is a long journey from the Rand to Ugie, 
but who ever knew a journey dull to anglers pro- 
ceeding on a holiday? If you leave Johannesburg 
on a Saturday night, you find yourself at Bloem- 
fontein early on the Sabbath; you pass through 
Springfontein later in the day, and before sundown 
you arrive at Stormberg : thence the line proceeds 
to Sterkstroom, where, after dinner and a short wait, 
the journey is resumed the same night on the 
Indwe-Maclear line. Maclear is the terminus. 
When, on the Indwe-Maclear line, you look out 
of the window soon after sunrise, you are greeted 
with a sight as fair as any in this surprising country. 
Especially after rain is the scene worth beholding. 
The eye feasts on kopje after kopje, cafions lying 
between, and a rolling panorama of wide veld 
downs. At Elliott, a hill-embosomed village, 
breakfast is announced, the train waiting while 
three rival ’buses, whose drivers keenly ply for 
patrons, convey passengers to the hostelry which 
provides the meal and back. It is all very simple, 
old-fashioned and enjoyable. Usually, meals are 
served on the train in South Africa, but on this 
branch line the catering is or was omitted. Break- 
fast over, and the journey resumed, more moun- 
