226 



JOURNEY ACROSS 



All these arrangements delayed us until past 

 twelve, when we at last set out in company 

 with our dragoon, a tall, moustachoed, deter- 

 mined, weather-beaten soldier, in uniform, 

 armed with a long sword, horse pistols, and a 

 gaucho knife stuck in his girdle behind. We 

 began our journey at too fast a pace to keep 

 it up without accident, and the usual one 

 occurred to the portmanteaus, which were soon 

 galloped quite under the belly of the baggage- 

 horse, till he was constrained to come to a 

 standstill. As the dragoon was not over 

 clever at fastening on the load, we were often 

 delayed on our way to Represa, the next post 

 of fifteen miles. On one occasion the man of 

 war lost his temper by these repeated and 

 vexatious stoppages, and began to beat the 

 young gaucho postilion with the flat of his 

 sword, asserting that the mischief was occa- 



