We enjoyed the repast immensely, though Captain Cloud bitterly lamented
that we had neither rum nor tea to wash it down. When we had thanked
our entertainer and were about to turn our horses' heads homewards,
the polite _capatas_ once more stepped out and addressed us.
"Gentlemen," he said, "whenever you feel disposed to hunt, come to me
and we will lasso and roast a heifer in the hide. It is the best dish
the republic has to offer the stranger, and it will give me great
pleasure to entertain you; but I beg you will hunt no more foxes over
the ground belonging to this _estancia,_ for you have caused so
great a commotion amongst the cattle I am placed here in charge of,
that it will take my men two or three days to find them all and bring
them back again."
We gave the desired promise, plainly perceiving that fox-hunting in
the English fashion is not a sport adapted to the Oriental country.
Then we rode back, and spent the remaining hours at the house of Mr.
Girling, of the Glorious Four, drinking rum and tea, smoking unlimited
pipes of cavendish, and talking over our hunting experience.
CHAPTER VI
I spent several days at the colony; and I suppose the life I led there
had a demoralising effect on me, for, unpleasant as it was, every day
I felt less inclined to break loose from it, and sometimes I even
thought seriously of settling down there myself.
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