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wagons that evening ; so off I set again with E. and 
Kemp, and with much difficulty managed to struggle to 
the end, but my feet would hardly carry me. "We had 
topped up a fortnight's hard going with a good day's 
work — sixteen miles besides the ascent up the hill. We 
were truly thankful to be at our wagons again, and feel 
that there was no more of the daily packing and unpacking, 
and that we were to be carried for the future instead of 
having to walk. Dubois stopped behind with the Caffres, 
glad, I think, to rest, but was to come on in the evening 
if the men were willing to move again. I called at the 
Dutchman's near the wagons, and succeeded in getting a 
loaf of bread and some butter and milk. We had a warm 
bath soon after our arrival, and enjoyed some oranges and 
lime juice, and, above all, a change of clothes ; and then 
to sit in a chair, with our food, &c., on a table, with the 
feeling of being clean and wearing clean clothes, was 
indescribable luxury to us ; and how we did enjoy some 
bread and butter and our whiskey toddy in the evening ; 
and then to turn in and lie down on a mattress in a 
tolerably comfortable bed, with plenty of room for all our 
things. I couldn't have believed we should ever come to 
look upon the wagons as such a luxurious home. Dubois 
and the men turned up about 8 o'clock. 
It had taken us just fourteen days to do the same 
distance on our return journey, that we had taken three 
weeks to get over on the road down. I reckoned that, 
during the fifty-four days below the hill, I had walked, on 
an average, at least six hours a day ; and this, at say 
three miles an hour, would have made about something 
under 1000 miles. We were glad to hear a good account 
of the oxen from the driver : two had died in our absence, 
but the remainder had picked up wonderfully, the valley 
being warm and sheltered. Next morning E. breakfasted 
in bed, and how we revelled in our hot rolls and jam. 
