CHAP. XXIII. 
THE ELEPHANT-HUNT. 
227 
could carry many days’ supply of it in a small compass 
without much additional weight. 
But to return to our journey. In a few hours we 
reached the Grauritz River, which was flooded from bank 
to bank. The post-contractor, however, is bound to keep 
a mail-cart on each side ; so after the mails and ourselves 
were conveyed over in a cranky boat we re-adjusted 
ourselves in the temporary cart (a thing without springs 
and cramped in size), and thus passed on to Riversdale 
and Swellendam. This latter town we reached at 
night; and without halting a moment drove on to 
Caledon, where we had a little adventure. The rule 
of passage by the mail-cart is, that those coming the 
longer distance have the preference of going on, to the 
exclusion of those who take their berths or passage 
from any given point on the road, or from one inter¬ 
mediate station to the other. It so happened that 
from Caledon to Cape Town there was a separate and 
rival contractor, and two of his friends had taken their 
passage to Cape Town in the mail- cart from Caledon; 
but we insisted on our right to go on, and it was about 
to become a question of some importance to us, as the 
two gentlemen had already mounted the cart and 
possessed themselves of the only two places. Near the 
starting-point there was a bridge, which it was neces¬ 
sary that the cart should pass over; and on looking 
round I saw my friend Currie on the bridge, revolver 
Q 2 
