ards the river.

Having travelled for some time, they at length reached the river. They
saw two black fellows on the other side, who, when they saw the runaway
wives and the two children, swam over to them and asked whence they had
come and whither they were going.

"We are running away from our husband Goomblegubbon, who would lend us
no dayoorl to grind our doonburr on, and we ran away lest we and our
children should starve, for we could not live on meat alone. But
whither we are going we know not, except that it must be far away, lest
Goomblegubbon follow and kill us."

The black fellows said they wanted wives, and would each take one, and
both care for the children. The women agreed. The black fellows swam
back across the river, each taking a child first, and then a woman, for
as they came from the back country, where no creeks were, the women
could not swim.

Goomblegubbon came back from hunting, and, seeing no wives, called
aloud for them, but heard no answer. Then he went to their camp, and
found them not. Then turning towards the dungle he saw that it was
empty. Then he saw the tracks of his wives and children going towards
the river. Great was his anger, and vowing he would kill them when he
found them, he picked up his spears and followed their tracks, until he
too reached the river. There on the other side he saw a camp, and in it
he could see strange black fellows, his wives, and his children. He
called aloud for them to cross him over, for he too could not swim. But
the sun went down and still they did not answer. He camped where he was
that night, and in the morning he saw the camp opposite had been
deserted and set fire to; the country all round was burnt so that not
even the tracks of the black fellows and his wives could be found, even
had he been able to cross the river. And never again did he see or hear
of his wives or his children.

18. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND BAHLOO THE MOON

Mooregoo the Mopoke had been camped away by himself for a long time.
While alone he had made a great number of boomerangs, nullah-nullahs,
spears, neilahmans, and opossum rugs. Well had he carved the weapons
with the teeth of opossums, and brightly had he painted the inside of
the rugs with coloured designs, and strongly had he sewn them with the
sinews of opossums, threaded in the needle made of the little bone
taken from the leg of an emu. As Mooregoo looked at his work he was
proud of all he had done.

On