Page:The romance of Runnibede (IA romanceofrunnibe00rudd).pdf/60

made a note of the fact that when he came out of the water he wasn't wet.

Abandoning the jew lizard, we looked over the bank and saw the mob of bullocks coming into view - a dark mass moving slowly over the brow of Pinnacle Ridge,

"Here they come!" and back to the ponies we cut like redshanks. On to their backs again, and off round the bend of the creek. In and out of the deep gullies, around another bend, and pulling up short in front of Tom Merton and Warabah. They were riding in advance of the mob to clear away any station cattle that might be about.

"Any cattle on the lagoon when you passed, you young blackguard?" Tom inquired mirthfully.

"None," we told him, "only a jew lizard."

"All right, then—the pair of you keep along with us, and don’t get too close to any of the mob, or they they'll make jew lizards of you. What do you think, Warabah?"

"Miy word," Warabah grinned, showing his white regular teeth, "sticking a horn in little fella horses all a same time, and pitch dem alonga moon," and the gentlemanly aboriginal, for such was Warabah, looked up at the sky and chuckled.

A low, rumbling muttering—a weird sort of glad- ness came from the foremost of the mob, and almost instantly was echoed by the others. Then out of a walk they all broke into a trot.

"They smell the water, Warabah. They're making for it," Tom Merton called out. And in a few seconds the first division had quickened pace, the