noon before
I slept that night on the cartel , which is a light hardwood frame , closely strung lengthwise and across with rimpi , or thin strips of hide , and which , slung to the framework of the interior of the wagon , under the tent , serves as a bedstead . Upon this , if furnished with a mattress , a pillow , and a pair of blankets -- as in my own case -- it is possible to enjoy a perfect night 's rest . The next morning we were all astir with the dawn , and while the `` boys '' prepared breakfast I made my way down to the spruit , bathed , with the dogs for company , and got back to the wagon just in good time for the first meal of the day , with an appetite to which a keen edge had been put by the fresh , clean air of the open veld . Then , immediately after breakfast , the oxen were inspanned , and , pushing forward a little more rapidly than on the first day , we forded the Great Fish River shortly after noon before outspanning for the midday halt . In this fashion , then , we journeyed , day after day , quietly and uneventfully , toward Port Elizabeth , where we arrived without mishap during the afternoon of the ninth day after leaving Bella Vista . Leaving the wagon outspanned on the outskirts of the town , I rode in and called in the first instance upon a certain Mr Henderson , who was a friend of ours , and from him received , as I fully expected , a very cordial invitation to make his house my home during the period of my sojourn in the town . The following day was a busy day with me , for I had a great many commissions to execute ; but by arranging them systematically I contrived to wipe the whole of them off my list before the stores closed , including even the purchase of the new rifle which I had promised myself .