little the wives knew that their husband was alive and in his mother's
camp. But as day after day Goonur, the mother, returned from hunting
loaded with spoils, they began to think she must have help from some
one; for surely, they said, no old woman could be so successful in
hunting. There was a mystery they were sure, and they were determined
to find it out.

"See," they said, "she goes out alone. She is old, and yet she brings
home more than we two do together, and we are young. To-day she brought
opossums, piggiebillahs, honey yams, quatha, and many things. We got
little, yet we went far. We will watch her."

The next time old Goonur went out, carrying her big comebee, the wives
watched her.

"Look," they said, "how slowly she goes. She could not climb trees for
opossums--she is too old and weak; look how she staggers."

They went cautiously after her, and saw when she was some distance from
the camp that she put down her comebee. And out of it, to their
amazement, stepped Goonur, their husband.

"Ah," they said, "this is her secret. She must have found him, and, as
she is a great doctor, she was able to bring him to life again. We must
wait until she leaves him, and then go to him, and beg to know where he
has been, and pretend joy that he is back, or else surely now he is
alive again he will sometime kill us."

Accordingly, when Goonur was alone the two wives ran to him, and said: