the first halt was made at noon when little more than eight miles had been traversed. the country encountered from the start had been a soft powdery sand formation, with occasional belts of dwarfed eucalypti, which intervened from the north. progress was necessarily slow at this early stage of the journey, for it was advisable to allow the camels to harden to their work gradually.
mackay had so far led the march, steering an approximate course by the sun, but immediately they stopped, he called bob aside for a conference.
"you see," he said, "when we went out before we started from a more northerly latitude, an' i calculate we should hit our old track in another hundred and eighty miles if we keep angling in a wee bit north o' east. i've got a copy o' the log up to pretty near the—the finish, an' here's where i think we ought to join on to bentley's route." he unfolded a long track chart which he carried in his hand; it was made up of several sheets of ordinary note-paper, gummed laterally together, and on its much faded surface several inky hieroglyphics stood out bravely. he pointed to a besmeared cross nearly halfway over the chart, and bob, looking closely, read the printed lettering[pg 208] beside it: "fortunate spring, lat. 28° 17′ 5′′, long. 125° 19′ 6′′."
he unfolded a long track chart which he carried in his hand
"he unfolded a long track chart which
he carried in his hand"
"we are somewhere under the twenty-fifth parallel just now," reflected bob. "that means we are about 120 miles south of your old track. i'd better draw out our present position on my own chart and mark a compass course for fortunate spring."
mackay looked relieved. "be vera exact wi' your calculations, my lad," he said earnestly, as he walked away.
bob took the sun's altitude three times while a hasty lunch was being prepared, and laboriously checked each result to five places of decimals, then he carefully marked their temporary camp's position on his still bare chart, and drew a dotted line thence to the location of fortunate spring.
"we'll have to travel nor'-east half north to make it," said he.
mackay nodded cheerfully. "i hope we are lucky in strikin' water," he observed. "about ten days is our stretch without it, for the camels can't stand more, and they can't stand that often either."
"we'll hit it right enough," commented emu bill, hopefully.
"if it's in the country, you kin bet i'll smell it," grunted never never. "i'm strong at nosin' out water, i am."
"oh, after that one hundred and eighty miles, i'll know where we are," said mackay; "but there's always some little uncertainty as we understood from the first, an' it won't be outside o' our calculations if we do go thirsty a bit."
[pg 209]
"not a blessed fraction!" cried the shadow, decanting the boiling tea from the billy into the enamelled cups. "who says sugar? you, emu? well, there ain't none; have a try at saccharine, an' be happy." he gulped down his own portion hurriedly, then ran off to round up fireworks, which was beginning to stray too far from his neighbours, and ten minutes later the expedition was once more on the move.
the next several days passed uneventfully; the same uninspiring desert sands prevailed, and the intense heat haze radiating from its shimmering surface affected the eyes of the travellers, causing them to quiver and blink painfully, while overhead the sun stared down from a cloudless sky. not a trace of moisture was visible anywhere, certainly no water could exist amid these barren wastes, and all hoped most anxiously that a change in the monotonous landscape might soon take place.
"it's a pretty thirsty lookin' start we've made," said mackay, when a week had elapsed, and they still struggled along ankle deep in the burning sands. bob was walking by his side keeping an eager eye on what appeared to be a light cloud-patch on the far horizon. he had noticed it for some time, but was unwilling to mention his hopes in case they might be doomed to early disappointment. now, however, he felt pretty sure that his eyes had not deceived him.
"there's a belt of timber straight ahead," he announced quietly, after mackay had spoken. the elder man shifted his gaze somewhat, and with puckered eyes surveyed the slight break on the horizon's even curve.
"you're quite richt, bob," he remarked, with a sigh of relief. "i've been steerin' by the shadow o' the sun[pg 210] across the camels, an' i've almost mesmerized mysel', i think, or i should have seen those trees earlier. it's a hard course for a bushman, bob, that fractional nor'-easter you gave me."
emu bill and never never dave had by this time found it necessary to assist in pulling the camels through the sand. jack, leading misery, had not much difficulty with his charge, for that wiry animal plodded steadily onward with ponderous movement despite all obstacles, but fireworks was by no means as energetic as he once was, and the shadow anathematized him roundly as he, with bent shoulders, strained at the nose-rope of the reluctant beast, a proceeding which the two bushmen had soon to emulate. now, when these weary individuals heard of the impending change in the land surface, they gave vent to their joy in sundry whoops of delight.
"it looks likely country for water, mac," cried never never, as they drew nearer, and could plainly distinguish the feathery scrub in their course. the sand too as they advanced, hardened considerably, and here and there great dioritic blows reared their heads above the plain.
"you're right there, dave," responded mackay, after a while, "if there's been any rain in the district for the last year or two we ought to find a rock hole—hillo! easy boys, and get your rifles ready. i see a wheen niggers dodgin' aboot among the scrub."
"nigs!" echoed emu bill and never never almost with one voice. there was an inflection of decided pleasure in the exclamation, as if these two had longed for a skirmish to ease the routine of their journey. mackay himself seemed in no way displeased, yet he took care to impress caution on his impetuous associates. "a spear or[pg 211] boomerang can kill as well's a bullet," he warned, while each man examined his rifle. "now, jack, don't be so anxious to get forrit, an' keep on the lee side o' misery an' no' at his head when we get near."
as yet bob was unable to distinguish any aborigines among the sparse scrub, but as they continued their wary advance he soon perceived several dusky forms crouching amid the timber, and his heart gave a bound when the savage creatures suddenly stood up and united in a shrill yell of defiance. he had never dreamt that these wild denizens of the bush could be so hideous; they seemed more ape than man, their faces were covered by long tangling hair black as jet, and only white gleaming eyes were visible; their bodies were repulsively scarred and painted. this much bob had time to notice, then a hail of spears rustled out from the scrub, fell short, and buried their barbed tips in the sand at their feet. and now the bush seemed alive with blacks; uncouth forms sprang from the side of each tiny sapling where they had been standing motionless, and harsh guttural screams filled the air.
"they're a bit more numerous than i thought," muttered mackay, calling a halt, "an' i've an idea that if we dinna rush them pretty quick, they'll rush us. now, jack, swing misery round an' let him stand, then grab your rifle." jack obeyed promptly, and at that moment another shower of spears hurtled overhead.
"by gum!" growled never never, "they'll get our range next try."
"they're comin' for us now, i reckon!" cried the shadow, and of that there could be no doubt; the shrieking horde had evidently decided to exterminate the invaders of[pg 212] their domain without further delay. on they came, brandishing their waddies and boomerangs, a compact mass of blood-thirsty black fury.
"now, boys!" roared mackay, "aim low and stop them." a thunderous discharge followed his words, and six rifles spat out their leaden challenge to the foe. the wonderful din created by the exploding cordite apparently stupefied the blacks for a moment; they ceased their wild rush, and gazed with astonishment at those of their number who had fallen. despite mackay's oft-repeated animosity towards the aborigines in general, he could not countenance wholesale slaughter. "they're a poor lot, boys," said he; yet even while he commiserated with them the savages joined in another determined rush. there must have been over twenty of them, and so impetuously did they come that they were within twenty yards of the white defenders before a second volley made them hesitate, and even now they did not all stop; a few stalwart warriors kept on their mad course, and hurled themselves almost upon the reeking rifle muzzles. if the attack had been made in full force things would have gone hard with the expedition. as it was, however, the little group had no difficulty in beating back the frenzied band. the shadow and jack were in their element; they little recked of danger when plying their heated weapons, though the vengeful club of one of the natives had missed jack's head by little more than a hair's breadth, and the shadow's face had been severely gashed by a flying boomerang. bob could not fail to observe how serious matters would have been had the natives made their onrush in skirmishing order; their close blocked formation made it impossible for even the most random shots to miss their billet, and[pg 213] now as the savage and discomfited creatures sullenly withdrew, they dragged with them many maimed and wounded comrades.
"i can't understand why the beggars are so stupid," said bob, watching the last of them disappear in the distance.
"ye may learn more o' their tactics before our journey is finished," mackay observed quietly; "at the same time, there is a wonderful difference among the tribes, an' that is where the explorer's danger lies. he may judge from a nomadic spiritless lot which he may chance to meet that a' natives are the same, and he may gie his life for the mistake later on."
by this time the team was again on the move, and within a few minutes a halt was made in the densest part of the scrub, while never never and emu bill searched around for water. but the search was vain, no welcome spring or rock-hole could be found, and a heavy gloom began to affect the spirits of the party whose hopes had been raised so high only to be thus rudely dashed. even mackay, usually most cheerful in times of stress and danger, looked grave as he reflected upon their somewhat unenviable position. he knew what the others had not calculated upon. he knew that the camels were already at their last extremity of endurance; accustomed as they had been while at golden flat to drink every few days, they had not absorbed their full supply before starting. misery alone, hardened veteran of many desert journeys that he was, had drunk his fill, and now his great reserve of strength showed plainly over the other beasts.
"i reckon them nigs had a mighty cheek to make such a howlin' fight for nothin'," complained the shadow. "one[pg 214] would have thought they was protectin' a lake o' cool crystal water——"
"slow up on that, shad, or i'll squelch ye wi' an empty water-bag," warned emu bill, who could not stand reference to such an unlimited supply of the precious fluid at this moment.
"there must be water about, all the same," said bob. "these natives, i suppose, get thirsty, like other people. i'm off to have a look round myself," and he sped away.
"be vera careful, bob, be careful——"
but bob was already out of earshot, pursuing a dogged course eastward in the wake of the retreating blacks. in his hand he grasped a heavy colt revolver, which he had extricated from the holster on his belt. a wild idea had seized him; he meant, if possible, to capture one of the blacks and make him disclose the treasure they had guarded so fiercely. it was a foolhardy plan which had so hastily formulated in his brain, and in his calmer moments bob would have been quick to realize what a desperate venture was that which he had now so lightly undertaken. but the urgent necessity of finding water was powerfully impressed upon him, and caution for the time being was thrown to the winds. eagerly he rushed along, and in a few minutes had passed out of sight of his companions; then suddenly two ebony-skinned warriors barred his path; he had blundered right on to them by the merest accident. at a glance he saw that they were armed with waddies and boomerangs only, their spears having probably been discharged in the fray from which they had fled. yet a waddie at close quarters is no mean weapon, and bob pulled himself up promptly, and with a stern smile levelled his revolver. his astonishment was[pg 215] great when, with a curious gurgle of mingled surprise and fear, the dusky twain dropped their weapons and incontinently fled before him. and now bob's heart was filled with wrath because of the cowardice of the pair. had they only waited and surrendered quietly to his request—though how he could have made them understand his wishes he did not stop to think—all might have been well. with scarce a pause he gave chase, covering the ground in long impetuous strides, but it soon became evident that unless something unforeseen occurred to check the flight of the fugitives, he could never hope to overtake them. on they sped, clearing the sand in great bounds, even stopping at intervals to gaze back at their pursuer. bob's chagrin was deep, and he sent one or two revolver bullets crashing after the disappearing couple which had the effect of making them run the faster, while far in the rear the excited cries of his anxious comrades showed that they were now concerning themselves over his prolonged absence.
yet the ardour of the pursuit had taken possession of bob; with a mighty effort he managed to quicken his pace so that he actually drew up considerably on the fleet-footed pair—scarce fifty yards divided them. "another spurt and i've got them," thought bob, and he clenched his teeth and strove boldly in the attempt. now thirty yards only separated them, now twenty, now ten. bob chuckled grimly to himself at the prospect of after all being successful in the chase, and stretched out his hand, then in an instant the hitherto level course came to an abrupt stop, a layer of branches and spinifex grass spread right across the track. the blacks had cleared it at a leap, but before bob had time to prepare for a spring he had staggered into the midst of the cut[pg 216] brushwood, and at once felt himself sinking down into space. it all occurred in a second or so. he clutched wildly at the pigmy branches as he descended through them, but they broke in his hands, and with a rush and a plunge he fell downwards into an unknown depth.
when he recovered himself, about a minute later, he became aware that he was standing, considerably shaken and bruised, waist deep in some semi-solid fluid at the bottom of a natural shaft, which he mentally calculated to be at least twenty feet deep. he had found water for a surety, and now would have given much to get out of its slimy embrace, but the steep dioritic walls were quite unscalable. bob was hopelessly a prisoner. then did he blame himself most bitterly for his mistaken ardour and lack of perception. the wily natives had but pretended to be overcome at the last wild rush so as to lead him directly over the subterranean trap.
"mackay was certainly right," he muttered. "their cunning is nothing short of devilish; and after being told of that, here i go like a fool and prove it for myself."
he had little time, however, for unprofitable moralizings, and he peered up and around his strange prison-house with anxious eyes, yet his surroundings were of so murky a nature that he could only vaguely guess the description of the trap into which he had fallen. his gaze was instinctively directed toward the gaping hole in the brushwood through which he had fallen, though what he expected to see there he did not very well know. but he now realized the nature of the blacks too fully to believe for a moment that they intended to leave him to his fate without further molestation.
"why, the water is bad enough as it is," he said,[pg 217] with a forced attempt at pleasantry. "they'll certainly come to fish me out before long."
he had not been in his awkward predicament many minutes when a black grinning face stared down at him. bob shuddered and crouched closer to the damp rocks; he was half prepared for a stone to be thrown or a spear to be poked tantalizingly in his direction, but no such proceedings were taken. the demoniacally leering face continued to look down at him without movement for several seconds, when it was joined by another equally hideous; they belonged to the two savages who had led him such an unfortunate chase. they had now returned to view their victim after having probably given the alarm to their fellows. bob groaned in dismay, but returned their gaze with stoical complacency, having not yet fully comprehended his true position.
at length, however, his strange gaolers, with many guttural exclamations, began to cover up the tell-tale gap in the layer of furze; then their prisoner's senses returned to him with a rush, and his emotions almost overwhelmed him. the blacks surely meant to cover up the hole so that his companions might not find him, and when they would depart after vain searchings, he would be left to the tender mercies of the "stupid" natives he had so commiserated! in truth bob's cup of bitterness was filled to overflowing.
but he decided, nevertheless, to do his best to prevent the success of their scheme. his revolver was still dry, for he had by some odd instinct clung to it tenaciously despite his demoralizing downfall, and now he became aware for the first time that he held it in his hand. he fired two shots upwards in rapid succession. operations[pg 218] ceased on the instant, and bob felt comforted. he knew that mackay would soon seek him out if any clue as to his whereabouts was left. his rejoicings, however, were premature, and very speedily checked. as he gazed at the sky through the gap which gave him light, he noticed the aperture slowly yet surely grow narrower and narrower. the blacks were pushing the superfluous brush over the opening by the aid of long sticks! bob shouted with the full force of his lungs and discharged the remaining shots in his revolver upwards, but only a hoarse cackle of satisfaction from the natives answered his attempts at communication with the outside world, and soon—as the last glimpse of sky was shut out—he was enveloped in absolute darkness.
"well, i assuredly could not have landed myself in a worse fix if i had tried," he soliloquized with wonderful calm. "here i am, shut up in a twenty-feet water-hole in the middle of the australian desert and surrounded by hostile savages. that's pretty good for a start—and, i'm afraid, for a finish too." he continued his unpleasant musings, while he carefully reloaded his revolver. then he wondered what his companions would do when he failed to appear, and a ray of hope flashed across his sorely tried brain. mackay and emu bill were expert bushmen, and indeed so was never never dave. he had often heard them speak of tracking up clues of even the very flimsiest nature; might they not, after all, be able to follow the slight impressions left by his footsteps on the sandy gravel?... what a cruel irony of fate to plunge him headlong into what he most desired to find—water. had he been caught in a sand-hole he would not have felt so much aggrieved; but water, of all things! while thinking[pg 219] in this strain, he remembered that, though he had been extremely thirsty all day, he had not yet tasted of his find. but his thirst had effectually gone from him, and he abhorred the slimy touch of the fluid which encircled his limbs. suddenly he felt some huge creature brush against his knee, and then climb up against him with many a wriggle and splutter. what new horror was this? bob was anything but timid in temperament, yet he shivered at the sinuous contact of this unknown thing, and endeavoured frantically to shake it off, but it only clung the tighter.
some little time now elapsed, to bob it seemed like half an hour, for the moments dragged like ages, though five minutes would have been a nearer estimate. then a subdued muttering was heard above, and he expected every instant to see more hideous faces grinning at him through the bushy covering. he guessed that the whole tribe had now arrived to witness his plight; and he was not far wrong, for nearly all the warriors whose powers of locomotion had not been interfered with earlier in the day had assembled overhead. the weary sojourner in the depths kept his gaze fixed on the roof of the shaft where one or two gleams of light filtered through the last unevenly laid scrub; his eyes had by this time grown accustomed to the gloom of his environment, and while he watched he carefully cocked his revolver, and adjusted it to fire on the hair trigger, so that his aim might not be disturbed at a critical juncture. soon a gaunt black hand drew aside the branches; bob's haste was his own undoing. had he waited long enough the oily-skinned savage might have let in the light more fully, but as it was he fired, and a howl of pain told him he had not fired[pg 220] in vain; but the brushwood fell back into position, and his prison was left as dark as ever. he now made an effort to climb up the walls of the dank and evil-smelling pit in which he was immured; but the flinty formations exposed were dripping with moisture, and slippery, and offered no place for foothold. bob would have given much then for a match, there were a few in the pockets of his nether garments, but they were well submerged beneath the level of the water, and consequently useless. the floundering animal that had climbed against his legs next aroused his curiosity; he could not imagine what sort of creature it might be, and his courage was not sufficient to prompt his making a practical investigation as to its form or temper with his hand, which, as it afterwards turned out, was just as well for the hand. another lull ensued, and he began to be alarmed at the silence of his dusky gaolers. were they premeditating some sudden and novel doom for himself, or had they indeed abandoned him to die in this horrible water-trap? and where were his companions all the time? to relieve the monotony he fired two more shots upwards at random and was rejoiced to hear another yell of pain from outside, but a retaliation in the shape of a fusillade of stones came crashing down, missing him by a few inches only. again he fired, and again. bob had grown desperate, he did not much care what form the reply of the natives would take, but now he heard an answering shot in the distance, while near at hand the shadow's well-known voice hilloed out lustily. there now appeared to be considerable agitation among the blacks above; their feet pattered on the sand confusedly, and then a shrill yell intimated to bob clearly enough that his tormentors had taken flight.
[pg 221]
he was about to congratulate himself heartily on escaping so opportunely from a distinctly awkward predicament, when he heard the sand crunch under hurrying footsteps, and the shadow, now close above, commenced to shout his name. he was evidently bent on following the retreating natives, for he halted not a moment, but kept up his mad rush forward. before the horrified prisoner below could raise an alarm, he had jumped impetuously into the snare which had already done its work so well, and a moment later he tumbled down heavily head over heels by bob's side. the spray he threw up almost blinded bob, and the fetid odours that were thus again let loose, caused him to gasp wildly. his comrade in misfortune struggled to his feet with eloquent maledictions, and his amazement when he recognized bob—the light was now streaming down through the gap he had made—was very genuine indeed.
"what in thunder is you doing here?" he cried.
bob considered the question rather superfluous under the circumstances.
"me? oh, i'm fishing!" he replied laconically.
the shadow ceased his flow of language for a moment, and examined the walls of his gloomy habitation with interest. it did not take him long to grasp the situation.
"hang it, that was a tidy trick to play on a peaceable sort o' cuss like me. they've bagged the pair of us, an' if we'd had the savvy o' a mosquito, we didn't oughter be here," he snorted in extreme disgust.
"it is a bit humiliating," admitted bob, not at all displeased that the wonderfully acute shadow had blundered into the trap as easily as himself. it tended to soothe his wounded feelings in no little degree. "but[pg 222] all the same," he added brightly, "we've found water, and that's worth some inconvenience, isn't it?"
the shadow grunted something unintelligible and began to prospect in the almost viscous fluid with both hands.
"there's some slimy crawler shoved up against me," he growled, "an' i reckon i'm goin' to break his little back, so that he won't have no appetite to feed on us afterwards." he groped around viciously.
"i have had a good half hour of its company, whatever it is," remarked bob. "but the splash you made frightened him off for a bit. but hold hard! shadow, hold hard, man! don't you see what it is?"
bob's eyes, more accustomed to the dull environment than his companion's, had now detected an unusually large-sized iguana struggling in the water; it had apparently fallen in from above, as they had done, and its snapping jaws looked decidedly dangerous. the shadow ceased his investigations with remarkable celerity, then lifted up his voice in fluent condemnation of all sorts and conditions of crawling creatures. when he had exhausted his store of expletives, he made a vain effort to climb the oozy walls of the cavern, and succeeded only in getting a fresh douche for his pains.
"i wonder who'll come first," he murmured feebly, "mackay or them savages? i reckon we shid know pretty sudden."
they were not left much longer in doubt. the report of mackay's powerful rifle broke the silence, they recognized it by the heavy charge of powder it fired and the series of shrill yells which answered it showed that the natives were still in the vicinity. anon the anxious[pg 223] pair heard the scrub break before the advance of some hurrying person, and the crunch, crunch of feet in the sand.
"go back and mind the camels, jack," they heard mackay's decisive voice ring out. "i'll find bob, if he's above ground, an' that reckless young rascal o' a shadow too."
"but we ain't above ground!" roared the last-named youth, forgetting that his voice would be absorbed in the echoes of the shaft before it reached the surface. on came the stalwart bushman, and the fierce invective against the blacks in general, and these savages in particular, which issued from his lips as he ran, came as a revelation to bob, who had never heard his friend so moved.
in a few moments he had reached the vicinity of the pit wherein the adventurous pair were entombed, and bob made ready to signal once more with his revolver, but such action was unnecessary. the experienced eye of mackay had quickly noticed the cut brushwood, and he bore down towards it without hesitation. then, thrusting his head through the opening in the bushy covering, he surveyed the captives below with a grim smile of amusement. "so this is where you are, my lads," said he. his relief was so evident that bob and the shadow felt even more ashamed because of the trouble they had caused than there was any need for. then bob found his speech.
"there's water here," he cried.
"water!" mackay's ruddy features positively glowed with pleasure. "well, well, i shouldna wonder but what you've taken the only means o' finding it, an' though it was a novel sort o' method, an' just a trifle dangerous, we canna be too thankful that it has succeeded. now, you'll[pg 224] hae to content yoursel's a bit longer while i see aboot gettin' a rope to pu' ye up——"
"don't go away, boss!" howled the shadow. "them yelpin' baboons'll be back in two shakes if ye does." but mackay had no intention of going away; he proceeded to signal with his rifle, and soon the entire camp, camels and all, arrived in answer to his call. great was the hilarity of jack and the two bushmen when they learned of the strange position in which bob and the shadow had been found; but their joy was real indeed that water had been discovered, after all, and when they raised their dripping comrades to the surface they embarrassed them more by their expressions of gratitude than by their display of what under the circumstances would surely have been but a pardonable levity.
now came the tedious process of drawing water for the camels to drink, and also for refilling the almost dry canvas bags which remorse carried. for the latter purpose the thick sand-impregnated fluid was laboriously filtered through a sheet of calico, so that a fair amount of its solid matter was eliminated. but it was not the sediment that was the most objectionable feature of the liquid; it simply stank with vile odours, so that emu bill and never never dave, who had undertaken the duty of hauling up the buckets, had anything but a pleasant time while they were so engaged. the boys marvelled at the extraordinary capacity of the camels for the uninviting solution; between them they managed to absorb well over a hundred gallons, and when at length they were satisfied, very little save mud remained at the bottom of the shaft.
"i would never have believed these natives capable[pg 225] of such a smart trick as that they played on me," said bob, who had been unusually silent since his rescue. "imagine the forethought of the beggars in covering up that confounded hole, and then luring me directly on to it!"
"they're no' so deficient in gumption as you at first considered, bob, my lad," answered mackay, with a twinkle in his eye. "however, i don't think they covered up the shaft exactly for your benefit. just look——" he kicked a few of the branches aside and drew bob's attention to their wholly sapless nature. "these same bits o' twigs have done duty for many a long day. the natives cover the water principally to prevent evaporation as much as possible, but also to keep all sorts o' animals an' reptiles from fallin' into it an' so spoilin' the flavour. the water has vera likely lain in that rock-hole for years, an' only such judicious economy on their part has left us enough for our needs."
"i reckon they'll have to shift their lodgings pretty soon," laughed the shadow, "for they'll have a pretty hard job gettin' a drink when we leave, an' the next man that does a dive into the reservoir as bob an' me did, shid strike something hard at the bottom."
the afternoon was already far advanced, but when never never dave suggested that they should camp where they were until morning, mackay would not hear of such a proceeding.
"we'll find trouble soon enough without lookin' for it, dave," said he, "an' if there's one thing i dislike it's camping near a crowd o' niggers in the night time. they would try to swipe us out before morning, for the miserable vermin get vera brave after sundown. no,[pg 226] boys, we'll head out right now for fortunate spring. fetch out the compass, jack, an' let me have a look at that course again. the sun has shifted a bit since i worked out the correct shadow to steer by."
immediately afterwards misery's bell began to chime, and the camel team moved on its weary way.
