Part 12 (1/2)

”That must be Hector! Hector, Hector, is it you?” shouted Oliver

”Yes, yes! ain,” was the answer

We sprang forward and caught hied hie hole into which he had fallen

”Take care,” he said ”I cannot stand--I sprained reat that I believe I must have fainted When I came to myself, I found that it was perfectly dark, and no sooner had I ed to reach the top of the hole than a whole herd of those woe creature had got a them I shouldn't have minded them, had they not tried to bite ain”

The wombats, on our appearance, had waddled off, so that they did not interfere with us while ere attending to Hector

On his trying to use his foot he found that his ankle was not sohi He therefore very willingly agreed to try and get back to the caun?” I asked; ”can you remember where you left it?”

”I'm sure I don't know,” answered Hector; ”I had it in my hand when I fell, but when I felt about for it I could nowhere find it”

We searched for the rifle round the hole and at last came to the conclusion that it must have fallen in

Ralph offered to descend

He got doithout difficulty and soon cried out that he had found the rifle at the botto else,” he added as he handed up the rifle ”While I was groping about, my hand came in contact with two hairy creatures Here they are!” and stooping down again he hauled out two young wo that they would ood roast for supper

We should have been puzzled to kno the big woot out of the hole, had not Ralph told us that he had found a passage sloping upwards to a smaller entrance soht not prove sufficient for all hands I shot a big fellohich th, and was covered with a thick hairy coat

Ralph undertook to carry it on his shoulders, while Oliver and I supported Hector

We now lost no tiress was of necessity slow, but we reached it at last, having been guided during the latter part of the distance by the bright flames of Toby's fire

We immediately set to work to cook the woer on the flesh of the eed after a little rest to devour no sht

We then lay down to sleep, pretty well tired by the fatigue we had gone through To our dis, but fortunately our friends discovered us on their way to the rendezvous, and heone of the horses we set off for home We carried with us the emu, which it was calculated would yield between six and seven quarts of fine oil It is for the sake of this valuable product that the bird is generally hunted

Hector very good-naturedly bore the bantering of the rest of the party on the subject of his adventure a the wombats

We had ridden some distance across the open country, e observed ahead what looked like a dense black mist in the far distance above the scrub

”What can that be?” I asked of Bracewell