e Kangaroo seemed to Dot to approach the whereabouts of the black
fellows as cautiously as when they had visited the water-hole the first
night. Dot's little heart beat fast as the sound of the blacks'
corroboree became clearer and clearer, and they neared the scene of the
dance. Soon she could hear the stamping of feet, the beating of
weapons together, and the wild chanting; and sometimes there were the
whimperings of dogs, and the cry of children at the camp a little
distance from the corroboree ground.

The Kangaroo showed no signs of fear at the increasing noise of the
blacks, but every sound of a dog caused it to stop and twist about its
big ears and sensitive nose, as it sniffed and listened.

Soon Dot could see a great red glare of firelight through the trees
ahead of their track, and she knew that in that place the tribe of
black men were having a festive dance.

If they had gone on their way it is possible that they would have
slipped past the blacks without danger. But although the Kangaroo is
as timid an animal as any in the bush, it is also very curious, and
Dot's Kangaroo wished to peep at the corroboree. She whispered to Dot
that it would be nice for a little Human to see some other Humans after
being so long amongst bush creatures, and said, also, that there would
be no great danger in hopping to a rock that would command a view of
the open ground where the corroboree was being held. Of course Dot
thought this would be great fun, so the Kangaroo took her to the rock,
where they peeped through the trees and saw before them the weird
scene and dance.

Dot nearly screamed with fright at the sight. She had thought she
would see a few black folk, not a crowd of such terrible people as she
beheld. They did not look like human beings at all, but like dreadful
demons, they were so wicked and ugly in appearance. The men who were
dancing were without clothes, but their black bodies were painted with
red and white stripes, and bits of down and feathers were stuck on
their skin. Some had only white stripes over the places where their
bones were, which made them look like skeletons flitting before the
fire, or in and out of the surrounding darkness. The dancing men were
divided from the rest of the tribe by a row of fires, which, burning
brightly, lit the horrid scene with a lurid red light. The firelight
seemed to make the ferocious faces of the dancers still more hideous.
The tribe people were squatti