vages, little better than beasts!
Remembering that she had pointed towards the hills ahead, I steered on
that course, and before long we came on the tracks of a man, woman, and
child, walking in the same direction. Here I saw a pure white spinifex
rat, leaping the tussocks in front of me, but of course had no means of
stopping it.

All that day we followed the tracks, over sandhills, samphire-flats,
through clumps of desert oak, past dry wells, from sunrise until sunset.
Warri and I were ahead for in tracking it is better to be well in
advance--riding and walking in turn until Highlander knocked up and had
to be led. Breaden and Godfrey had awful work behind to get the camels
along. At almost every sandhill one or other of them, usually Bluey,
would drop and refuse to budge an inch until forced by blows. How the
poor brutes strain, and strain again, up the steep, sandy slopes; painful
sight, heart-breaking work--but work done!

We crossed the Davenport Hills shortly before sunset and waited on the
other side for the main party, in case in the bad light and on the hard
rocks our tracks should be missed. As they came up, we heard a distant
call--a gin's--and presently the smoke from a fire was visible. The Monk
had done the least work that day, and was the staunchest horse, indeed
the only one capable of more than walking, so I despatched Godfrey to
surprise the camp, whilst we followed. He rode right on to the tribe, and
was accorded a warmish welcome, one buck casting his spear with great
promptitude. Luckily his aim was poor and the spear passed by Godfrey's
head.

When we arrived on the scene I found Godfrey standing sentinel beneath a
tree, in the branches of which stood at bay a savage of fine proportions.
He had a magnificent beard, dark brown piercing eyes, splendid teeth, a
distinctly Jewish profile, and no decorations or scars on his chest or
body. I shall not forget the colour of his eyes nor their fierce glitter,
for I climbed the tree after him, he trying to prevent my ascent by
blows from a short, heavy stick which I wrested from him, and then with
broken branches of dead mulga, with which he struck my head and hands
unmercifully, alternately beating me and prodding me in the face,
narrowly missing my eyes. If he suffered any inconvenience by being kept
captive afterwards, he well repaid himself beforehand by the unpleasant
time he gave me. And if it was high-handed treatment to capture
unoffending aborig