o how and where they should
all be stowed away for a fortnight, but had naturally deferred till the
last moment to carry out my arrangements, for they entailed giving up
our own bedroom, and "camping" in the dining-room, besides wonderful
substitutes of big packing-cases for cribs, etc. etc. But, alas! here
we were eight miles from home and nothing done, not even any extra
food ordered or prepared. The obvious thing was to mount our horses and
return as fast as ever we could, and we hastened out of the hut to the
spot where we had left them both securely tied to the only available
post, through which unfortunately five wires ran, as it was one of the
"standards" of a fence which extended for miles. Just as we came out of
the hut in a great bustle, our evil destiny induced F----'s horse to
rub its nose against the top wire of the fence; and in this process it
caught the bar of its snaffle-bit, and immediately pulled back: this
made all the wires jingle. Helen instantly took alarm, and pulled back
too: fresh and increased vibration, extending up the hill-side and
echoing back an appalling sound, was the result of this movement. In an
instant there were both the horses pulling with all their force against
the fence, terrified to death; and no wonder, for the more they pulled
the more the wires jingled. F---- did all he could to soothe them with
blandishments. I tried to coax Helen, but the nearer we drew the
more frantically they backed and plunged, and the more the noise
increased--till it was a case of "one struggle more and I am free;" and
leaving their bridles still fastened to the fatal fence by the reins,
we had the satisfaction of seeing both our horses careering wildly
about--first celebrating their escape from danger by joyous and frantic
bounds and kicks, and then setting off down the gorge of the river as
hard as they could go. I fairly sat down and whimpered a little, not
only at the thought of our eight miles' walk over shingle with a deep
river to be crossed nine times, but at the idea of my poor little guests
arriving to find no supper, no beds, "no nothing."

F---- tried to cheer me up, and said the only thing was to get home as
quick as possible; but he did not expect to find that our friends had
arrived, for it had been very hazy over the plains all day, and probably
had rained hard in Christchurch; so he thought they would not have
started on their journey at all. But I refused to accept any comfort
from