ned into slough by the rain.

One man sickened and died, but on April 21 the three men were in sight
of the camp where their comrades had been ordered to await their return.
Burke thought that he could see them in the distance. How eager they
were to get there! Here they would find all necessaries, and, above all,
would be saved from starvation, which had already carried off one of the
four.

But the spot was deserted. Not a living thing remained. There were only
on a tree trunk the words "Dig. April 21." They digged and found a
letter telling them that their comrades had left the place the same day,
only a few hours before. Fortunately they found also a supply of flour,
rice, sugar, and dried meat enough to last them until they reached a
station inhabited by whites. But where were the clothes to replace their
worn rags, which would scarcely hang together on their bodies? After
four months of hard travelling and constant privations they were so
overcome by weariness that every step was an effort, and now they had
come to the camp only to find that their comrades had gone off the same
day, neglecting their duty. Fate could not have treated them more
cruelly.

Burke asked Wills and King whether they thought that they could overtake
their comrades, but both answered no. Their last two camels were worn
out, whereas the animals of the other men were, according to the letter,
in excellent condition. A sensible man would have tried to reach them,
or at least have followed their trail, and this Wills and King wanted
to do. But Burke proposed a more westerly route, which he expected would
be better and safer, and which led to the town of Adelaide in South
Australia. It ran past Mount Hopeless, an unlucky name.

All went well at first, as long as they had flour and rice and could
obtain from the natives fish and _nardoo_, ground seeds of the clover
fern. They even ate rats, roasting them whole on the embers, skin and
all, and found them well flavoured. One camel died, and the other soon
refused to move. He supplied them with a store of meat. But their
provisions came to an end, and, what was worse, water ceased on the way
to Mount Hopeless.

Then they decided to return to the abandoned camp. On the way they kept
alive on fish which they sometimes procured from natives, having nothing
else but _nardoo_ seeds plucked from the clover fern. Half dead with
hunger and weariness they came back to the camp.

Midwinter, the end of