Part 7 (2/2)
Yes! they had just reached the other side No! they had not quite: as the rasses wrenching, the courageous Kangaroo fighting for a foothold on the very brink of the precipice What a terrible moment! Every second Dot felt sure they would fall backward and drop deep into the gully below, to be dashed to pieces on the rocks and the tree tops But God did help Dot's Kangaroo; the little reeds and rushes held tightly in the earth, and the poor struggling aniained the reedy slope safely She staggered forward a few reeling hops, and then fell to the earth like a dead creature In an instant Dot was out of the pouch and had her ar, as she saw blood and foae diaroo! Oh, please don't die!” cried Dot, wringing her hands, and burying her face in the fur of the poor gasping creature
”Dot,” panted the Kangaroo, ”irl didn't understand why the Kangaroo wanted her to otten their pursuers But now she turned, and could hear the Blacks urging on their dogs as they were ain the other side of the chasm So Dot did as she was told, and screaasping Kangaroo told her to go on doing so
[Illustration: A LEAP FOR LIFE]
Then what see happened; for she soon heard other cries ully in darkness below, ca and listened, and could hear those awesooblinish The Kangaroo's eyes brightened, as she restrained her panting, and listened also ”Go on,”
she said, ”we're safe now,” so Dot , and her noises and the others would have frightened anyone who had heard the in the trees, and the black clouds flying over the htened the Blackfellows directly
They stopped in their headlong speed, shouting together in their shrill voices, ”The Bunyip! the Bunyip!” and they tuet away froht, by that wicked demon which they fear so much At full speed they fled back to their camp, with the sound of Dot's cries, and thetheained the light of their camp fires There they told the ”Gins,” in awe-struck voices, how it had been no Kangaroo they had hunted, but the ”Bunyip,” who had pretended to be one And the Black gins' eyes greider and wider, and they e noises and exclamations, as they listened to the story of how the ”Bunyip” had led the huntss to pieces, and had leaped over the precipice into Dead Man's Gully, where it had cried like a picaninny, and bellowed like a bull No one slept in the ca the whole tribe went away, being afraid to remain so near the haunt of the dreaded ”Bunyip”
Dot saw the flight of the Blacks in the diaroo, who, however, was too exhausted to rejoice at their escape She still lay where she had fallen, gasping, and with her tongue hanging down fro
In vain Dot caressed her, and called her by endearing names; she lay quite still, as if unable to hear or feel Dot's little heart swelled within her, and taking the poor ani head on her lap, she sat quite still and tearless; waiting in that solitude for her one friend to die--leaving her lonely and helpless
Presently she was startled by hearing a brisk voice, ”Then it was a hu here?” Dot turned her head withoutlegs, standing with its feet close together, with the self-satisfied air of a dancing in a lesson
Dot did not care for any other creature in the Bush just then but her Kangaroo, and the perky air of the bird annoyed her in her sorrow
Without answering, she bent her head closer down to that of her poor friend, to see if her eyes were still shut, and wondered if they would ever open and look bright and gentle again
The little brown bird strutted with an important air to where it had a better view of Dot and her companion, and eyed thearoo's in a bad way,” it said; ”why don't you do so about with its head?”
”What can I do?” whimpered Dot
”Give it water, and damp its skin, of course,” said the little Bird, contemptuously ”What fools Humans are,” it exclaimed to itself ”And I suppose you will tellon a spring”
”But I'rass,” said Dot, now fully attentive to the bird's remarks
”Well, booby,” sneered the bird, ”and under the grass is wet moss, which, if you make a hole in it, will fill ater Why, I'd do it myself, in a moment, only your claws are better suited for the purpose than mine Set about it at once!” it said sharply
In an instant Dot did what the bird directed, and thrust her little hands into the soft grass roots and e She had soon made a little hole, and the most beautiful clear water welled up into it at once Then, in the hollows of her little hands, she collected it, and dashed it over the Kangaroo's parched tongue, and, further instructed by the kindly though rude little bird, she had soon etted the suffering aniaroo becaue moistened and returned to the mouth, and at last Dot saith joy the brown eyes open, and she knew that her good friend was not going to die, but would get well again
Whilst all this took place, the little brown bird stood on one leg, with its head cocked on one side, watching the exhausted Kangaroo's recovery with a comic expression of curiosity and conceit When it spoke to Dot, it did so without any atteest possible creature, because it was really very kind in helping her to save the Kangaroo's life, and yet it see its kindheartedness by its rudeness Afterwards the Kangaroo told her that the little Bittern is a really tender-hearted fellow, but he has an idea that kindness in rather s ones As he alants to be thought a bigger bird than he is, he pretends to be hard-hearted by being rough; consequently, nearly all the Bush creatures siard him as a rude little bird, because bad rown-up; rather the contrary
”How do you feel now?” asked the Bittern, as the Kangaroo presently struggled up and squatted rather feebly on her haunches, looking about in a soaroo, ”but, dearseeiddy
”That was rather a good july, as if juaroo were e of the her eyes again and looking round ”Where is Dot?”
”Umph! that silly!” exclaiaroo rejoiced over each other's safety ”Much good she'd have been to you with the Blacks, and their dogs after you, if we Bitterns hadn't played that old trick of ours of scaring the voices He! he! he!” it chuckled, ”how they did run e tuned up! They thought the Bunyip had got theh!”