shouting to Breaden to stay with the camels, and to Charlie, who was
mounted, to cut him off in front, I put my best leg foremost. A hummock of
spinifex brought me down, and, exhausted from short rations, I lay,
unable to run further. Not so Godfrey, who held on manfully for another
fifty yards and grabbed the black-fellow as he turned to avoid Charlie on
the camel. The poor chap was shaking with fear, but, after relieving his
feelings by making a violent though abortive attack on Godfrey, he soon
calmed down and examined us with interest.

Whatever the buck thought of us, close observation could find nothing
very remarkable about him. A man of about 5 feet 8 inches, thin but
muscular, with very large feet and small hands, very black, very dirty,
his only garment consisted of a band of string round his forehead,
holding his hair back in a ragged, mop-like mass. On his chest, raised
sears; through his nose, a hole ready to hold a bone or stick--such was
this child of the wilderness. By signs we made him understand our wants,
and the strange procession started, the "buck" (the general term for a
male aboriginal) leading the way at a pace too fast for us or our camels.
Guarded on one side by Breaden, I on the other, we plied our new friend
with salt beef, both to cement our friendship, and promote thirst, in
order that for his own sake he should not play us false. For five hours
we held on our way, curiously enough almost on our proper course, having
often to stop awhile to allow the caravan to overtake us. Buoyed up by
the certainty of water so long as we had the buck with us we pushed on,
until just after sunset the country changed from sand to stony rises and
we felt sure a rock-hole was not far off. A little further, and, by the
uncertain light, we could see a fair-sized hole with water in it. I ran
ahead, and was the first to realise that the native had deceived us; the
hole was dry! and must have been so for months.