d this purpose in their glances. I
have had so much to do with these Australian peoples that, although I
cannot speak all their languages--for nearly every ten miles a totally
different one may be used--yet a good deal of the language of several
tribes is familiar to me, and all their gestures speak to me in
English. I could at any rate now see that mischief was brewing. Near
sundown we spread a large tarpaulin on the ground to lay our blankets,
rugs, etc., to sleep on. When I had arranged my bed, several old men
standing close by, the master-fiend, deliberately threw himself down
on my rugs. I am rather particular about my rugs and bedding, and this
highly though disagreeably perfumed old reptile, all greasy with
rotten fat, lying down on and soiling them, slightly annoyed me; and
not pretending to be a personification of sweetness and light, I think
I annoyed him a great deal more, for I gave him as good a thrashing
with a stick as he ever received, and he went away spitting at us,
bubbling over with wrath and profanity, and called all the tribe after
him, threatening us with the direst retribution. They all went to the
west, howling, yelling, and calling to one another.

Young Verney Edwards was always most anxious to get a lot of natives'
spears and other weapons, and I said, "Now, Verney, here's a chance
for you. You see the blacks have cleared out to the west, now if you
go up the foot of the hill to the east, the first big bushy tree you
see, you will find it stuck thick with spears. You can have them all
if you like. But," I added, "it's just suppertime now, you had better
have supper first." "Oh no," he said, "I'll go and get them at once if
you think they are there," and away he went. I was expecting the enemy
to return, and we had all our firearms in readiness alongside of us on
the tarpaulin where we sat down to supper. I had a cartridge-pouch
full of cartridges close to my tin plate, and my rifle lay alongside
also. Jimmy Fitz, Perkins, Billy the black boy, and I, had just begun
to eat when we heard a shot from Verney's revolver. I did not take
very much notice, as he was always firing at wallaby, or birds, or
anything; but on another shot following we all jumped up, and ran
towards him. As we did so we heard Verney calling and firing again;
Perkins seized my cartridge pouch in his excitement, and I had to get
more cartridges from my saddle. In the meantime shots were going off,
howls and yells rent the air