I don’t know about other animals, but horses tend to take advantage of the friendship established with their riders. Star and his three pals became a pain in the neck. To celebrate my manhood in becoming a constable I had started smoking. Not very seriously, but on my way there. Even on that first day in the truck I thought I saw Star looking at my packet of cigarettes in a funny kind of way, so after that every time I took a cigarette out I took great pains to hide the packet under my pillow. Immediately behind me was the door of the truck. This was a double door and the top could be opened to let in light and fresh air, but our orders were to close it at night. That very first night in the truck I lay there looking at these four horses and pitying them for not being able to lie down and sleep. Our NCO’s had told us that if a horse were ever to lie down in a railway truck, it was to die. They just do not lie down in strange surroundings. I fell asleep and dreamt that a pretty girl was stroking me lovingly on my cheek preparatory to kissing me, but before she got that far her stroking of my cheek became so intense that she pushed my head clean off the pillow. I awoke to see that gentle Star retreating to his place behind the movable crib with my packet of cigarettes in his mouth. The swine. And that went on for seven days.
To end this story: 1. From a security point of view nothing could be found that marred the tour. 2. FM Smuts lost the 1948 election. 3. Dr Malan’s National Party won the 1948 election. 4. Dr Verwoerd later became the Prime Minister and during his tenure we became a republic and left the British Commonwealth.
45