midday
This occurred about three o'clock in the afternoon , and when at length we were all once more safe on solid ground we were , horses as well as men , so utterly fagged out that there was nothing for it but to off-saddle for the remainder of the day in order to recover . A good night 's rest , however , completely restored us all , and enabled us to resume our search on the following morning . Our experiences on the morning of this day were simply a repetition of those of the previous day , except that , profiting by experience , we took care not to allow ourselves to be trapped in any more quicksands ; and I began to fear that our search was going to be a much more protracted one than I had anticipated . But shortly after midday we arrived at a spot where , on the opposite side of the river , another river , about a hundred yards wide , discharged into the main stream . At this point also the Limpopo widened out until it was fully a quarter of a mile in width , the combined effect of these two circumstances being the formation of numerous eddies and so much slack water that the soil held in suspension by the two streams was here afforded an opportunity to settle and form a shoal extending right across the main river , with a maximum depth of water over it of barely four feet . This shoal we thoroughly tested both on foot and on horseback , with the result that we found it to be an ideal crossing place . Having satisfied myself as to this , my next business was to arrange for the dispatch of Piet as my ambassador into the Mashona country .