e things
because I do not want any one to suppose I followed up the tracks of the
lost man with the intention of rendering him any assistance. For nearly
two days Yamba and I followed the tracks, which went in curious circles
always trending to the left. At length we began to come upon various
articles that had apparently been thrown away by the straggler. First of
all, we found part of a letter that was addressed to some one (I think)
in Adelaide; but of this I would not be absolutely certain. What I do
remember was that the envelope bore the postmark of Ti Tree Gully, S.A.

The writer of that letter was evidently a woman, who, so far as I can
remember, wrote congratulating her correspondent upon the fact that he
was joining an expedition which was about to traverse the entire
continent. I fancy she said she was glad of this for his own sake, for
it would no doubt mean much to him. She wished him all kinds of glory
and prosperity, and wound up by assuring him that none would be better
pleased on his return than she.

The country through which these tracks led us was for the most part a
mere dry, sandy waste, covered with the formidable spinifex or porcupine
grass. Yamba walked in front peering at the tracks.

Presently she gave a little cry, and when she turned to me I saw that she
had in her hand the sombrero hat of an Australian pioneer. A little
farther on we found a shirt, and then a pair of trousers. We next came
upon a belt and a pair of dilapidated boots.

At length, on reaching the crest of a sandy hillock, we suddenly beheld
the form of a naked white man lying face downwards in the sand below us.
As you may suppose, we simply swooped down upon him; but on reaching him
my first impression was that _he was dead_! His face was slightly turned
to the right, his arms outstretched, and his fingers dug convulsively in
the sand. I am amused now when I remember how great was our emotion on
approaching this unfortunate. My first thought in turning the man over
on to his back, and ascertaining that at last he breathed, was one of
great joy and thankfulness.

"Thank God," I said to myself, "I have at last found a white
companion--one who will put me in touch once more with the great world
outside." The burning rage that consumed me (you know my object in
following the tracks) died away in pity as I thought of the terrible
privations and sufferings this poor fellow must have undergone before
being reduced