He had passed a very pleasant evening in the company of the gentlemen he had invited to enjoy his hospitality at Mr. Dibbit's hotel. The dinner was excellent, for the worthy landlord knew how to serve those who had the money to pay for his attentions, and after full justice had been done to it, and he had taken leave of his friends, each of whom gave him some additional advice in regard to the route to be pursued, and the manner in which he ought to conduct himself in certain emergencies, Oscar mounted his horse, which, for want of a better name, he had christened "Little Gray," and rode toward Howick.
About a mile beyond the blacksmith shop he discovered a wagon on the veldt, or open field, which he judged to be Colonel Dunhaven's. It was lying almost on its side, and there were no living things to be seen about it, no oxen or horses, or even a dog to challenge him.
His own camp, which he reached after he had ridden about ten miles further on, presented a more cheerful appearance. The huge wagon was right side up, and there was a fire burning brightly beside it.
His oxen, fastened two and two in their yokes, were lying at their ease, "chewing the cud of contentment"; the horse Paddy O'Brian had ridden away from the hotel in the morning was tied to one of the hind wheels of the wagon, and the dogs were curled up under it.
Awakened by the sound of his horse's feet, they came out in a body and welcomed him vociferously.
Having quieted them, Oscar dismounted, and while he was taking the saddle off Little Gray and tying him beside his mate he heard a rustling in the wagon and a voice muttering:
"Hould aisy there, ye blackgarrud!"
Oscar laughed silently, and told himself that he had not the slightest reason to fear that his property would be interfered with so long as Paddy O'Brian had anything to do with it. He walked around the wagon to warm his hands at the fire (it was cold, and the heavy overcoat he wore was not at all uncomfortable), and saw his native servants sleeping there, covered up, head and ears, with their skin cloaks.
"I am all right so far," thought Oscar as he looked about him with a pleased expression on his face, and thought of the trials that had been so graphically described to him. "Thanks to my good friends, I have escaped every annoyance. I am almost sorry I offered to assist the colonel, for I shall lose much valuable time by it. I know he never would have offered to help me if I had been in trouble. How he would have stared at me through that eyeglass of his if he had seen me hopelessly stalled and my oxen rusty, while his own team was moving smoothly along the hard road! But that's the way I am going to get even with him."