half, so I decided to start with the sergeant at
half-past six. At a quarter-past six I found that my pony had bruised a
fetlock against a stone in the night and was distinctly lame. I could
not get another mount, and had to share the sergeant's, and we had
little more than our two hours and a half for the journey. It so
happened that I had just been reading a story of primitive life in
Western America, called 'The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come,' in which
a very sound method by which two men can travel on one horse is alluded
to. A. starts on horseback at, say, eight miles an hour, and B. on foot
at, say, four miles. When A. has gone a given distance he dismounts,
ties the horse to the nearest tree or stone, and proceeds on foot. Up in
due course comes B., mounts the horse, and, riding on, should overtake
A. just when A. has finished his fair share of walking; after which the
process is repeated to the end of the journey.

I was A. and the sergeant was B. The road was quite deserted, and the
part through which we were going was at that time reported quite
peaceful, so there was practically no risk in leaving the pony alone for
short spells at a time. It was a most comfortable arrangement
altogether. We travelled at the average rate of six miles an hour. Each
of us had a pleasant ride alternating with a pleasant walk. Even the
pony, though, when on the move, kept going pretty hard, yet had pleasant
breathers between whiles. We arrived punctually at 8.55 A.M., of course
to find that the first column had decided to halt a day at Kangma, and
that therefore there need not have been any hurry. But then, of course,
that is always the way in such cases.

We had one great adventure just before we reached Kangma. I had been
walking, and the sergeant had just caught me up, on the pony, when two
shots rang out. I located them as coming from a village a short way off.
The sergeant affirmed that they were both volleys. I was in a beastly
funk, and perhaps the sergeant was not altogether unmoved. Just then two
mounted infantrymen, fully armed, rode up from the Kangma direction. I
have great respect for mounted infantrymen, but I have known them spin
yarns. We asked whether there were any of the enemy about, to which they
replied that their name was legion, or words to that effect, and that
they were all around us. This being so, it did not seem to matter in
which direction we went; so we pushed on, indulging in the pleasure of
each