d a strip of calico had been fastened to the
bushes, evidently in the hope of attracting attention.

"We collected these little articles carefully and took them to the
husband, who instantly identified the strip of calico as belonging to a
gown his wife had worn, and he also remembered that she had taken a
Melbourne newspaper with her. He was greatly excited at the sight of the
articles, and so were we. It was too late to do anything that day; in
fact, it was dark before we reached home, and so we made all
preparations for an early start on Thursday morning. We were on the way
soon after daylight, and the native trackers expressed the fullest
confidence in their ability to find the missing wanderers, now that they
were able to start on the track.

"We first went to the mia-mia, or wind shelter, and then took a course
to the northeast, walking over a succession of low ranges and shallow
gullies where the water often reached up to our knees. The trackers were
much disappointed, as the amount of water which spread over the country
made it impossible for them to follow the trail. We passed through thick
scrubs and prickly plants, and over sharp rocks which were rough walking
even for men; what must they have been for the woman and her children?

"We continued our search for several hours, and had almost resolved to
give it up, when one of our party fired at a kangaroo which he had
disturbed, and which fled before us. The animal fell wounded, and as we
were advancing towards it, we thought we heard a distant coo-ee. We
stood still to listen, and faintly, yet quite distinctly, it was
repeated. We walked on with great eagerness in the direction whence the
sound appeared to come, and every little while we coo-eed and waited for
an answer to assure us that we were on the right track. We did not get
an answer every time, and when we did it was not a strong one; but there
was no mistaking the sound, and we realized each time that we were
getting nearer the spot where it was made.

"We reached the edge of a gully thickly overgrown with tangled scrub
about twelve feet high. We pressed forward through this scrub, wading
occasionally through the water, and pushing aside the last bushes,
found ourselves at the edge of a small open plain. There we saw,
standing at a little distance, a gaunt, ragged woman with a child in her
arms. As she caught sight of us she turned and fled; either she mistook
us for black fellows, or the surprise a