"Come," I whispered to Moira, and reckless of consequences, we fled
into the pitch black of the scrub.

CHAPTER III

THE ONLY WHITE MAN IN NEW HOLLAND

After leaving the blacks' camp I made my way through the forest, guided
by Moira, who could see in the dark. I was fearful lest we might be
pursued, in which case I resolved I would not be taken alive. Moira,
however, did not believe that we would be followed. Her people, she
told me, were afraid to enter the forest at night, when evil spirits
were supposed to be abroad, and indeed her own terror was so great that
I realized her devotion to me in having braved, for my sake, the
superstition in which she had been reared.

Moira was right in thinking we would not be followed, for no attempt
was made to follow us. But now a fresh anxiety arose. There were shapes
among the trees which were visible to Moira, though I could not see
them, which caused her such terror that I was obliged almost to carry
her, and I sometimes thought by the chill of her body that she had died
in my arms. With the dawn, however, the shapes disappeared, and Moira's
fears were dispelled.

Daylight found us several miles on our way to the coast, which we made,
as I reckoned, about noon, to the north of where I had first landed.
The cliffs here were high and rocky, the waves breaking at the foot in
fountains of spray. The sky was dull and overcast, which betokened a
storm. A number of white birds with yellow crests, such as I had seen
on my first landing, flew inland, and several fur-coated animals, with
heads resembling deer, and powerful tails, hopped across the stubble to
the shelter of the trees. The prospect was a dreary one, and a feeling
of melancholy oppressed me, which I found it hard to dispel.

Moira did her best to cheer me, but I could not rid myself of the dread
of being the only white man upon this desolate shore. When we had
walked for some distance we came to a sandy beach, where we found a
cave in which to shelter from the storm which now burst upon us.
For an hour or more the elements raged with a fury only to be equalled
in the tropics. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, whilst rain fell
with the force of a deluge. Then, suddenly, the storm passed, and the
sun shone with renewed splendour, decking the dripping foliage with
myriads of raindrop gems.

We had depended for food since leaving the blacks' camp upon a supply
of dried fish and prepared bulrush root, whic