es. The boys were very much amused by the antics of three
or four calf-camels. They looked like big lambs on stilts, except that
their necks were longer. They frisked about and did not seem at all
afraid; but when Vaughan tried to stroke one of them, it bumped into
him and knocked him over, which made everybody laugh.

The man in charge of the camels was not an Afghan; he was an Indian
named Becker Singh, a big, handsome, intelligent man, and he wore the
same rough sort of clothes and hat as any Australian in the back
country. He showed Peter the two camels he had chosen for the boys,
and, after testing them himself, the bushman showed his two friends how
to arrange their blankets on the iron framework of the saddle in order
to make a comfortable seat, how to mount, and the easiest way to sit.

"Don't you try to do anything," he told them. "Just get your feet into
the stirrups and sit loosely."

This was good advice and saved the boys the usual discomfort which
comes to those who ride a camel for the first time. They had no need
to guide their camels, for all the animals were tied one behind the
other. When everything was ready, Becker walked slowly down the long
line, giving a final inspection to each of his charges, then whistled
in a peculiar way.

All the camels stood up at once. To the boys, this was the most
uncomfortable part of their experience, for a camel has four distinct
movements in getting up or down, and, unless the rider is used to them,
they are rather startling. But once their mounts were really up, the
rest was plain sailing. They swayed gently forward and back with each
stride of the camel and enjoyed the motion very much, and could see
over the country from their high position much better than they could
from horseback or on foot.

The three days' journey to the Dingo Creek Bridge was accomplished
without any accident, though the new method of travel and the new
country passed through were full of interest to the two boys. Each
evening the long line of stately animals was coiled round in a big
circle at the camping-place, and the camels were made to kneel down
while their loads were unroped and their saddles taken off. Then the
black boys who were helping Decker Singh hobbled the camels and drove
them off to pick up what food they could find during the night. In the
morning the same boys brought them in and made them kneel in the right
places to be loaded again for the day.

To h