78 MYOLA CHAP. 
to ford it. She was not going to have her body washed 
away to " goodness knows where ; no, she would rather 
be killed and eaten by natives than that/' she said; 
and all our persuasions were useless. As a rule most 
Australians of her class are accustomed to '* roughing it," 
and having to take the good with the evil, seldom fail 
you in a time of emergency ; but on her our words were 
all wasted. " No, she'd walk every mile of the way 
back," etc. Joe lost his temper at last and used strong 
language. 
Then s^ain I held out what I thought a sufficient 
inducement, which had the desired effect, and finally, 
after an hour and a half, when our patience (an indis- 
pensable quality in these wilds) was almost exhausted, 
she consented to go. At each halt and each fresh dip 
into a hole bigger than the last, she gave a good whole- 
some scream. It wasn't altogether pleasant, for when 
in mid-stream we felt the buggy for a moment float, 
the half swing round suggested that we might be carried 
down the river. Even Joe didn't like the look of things, 
and standing on his feet, with one lash of his long 
whip and a shout to the horses, he let them have it : 
they bounded forward, snorting and splashing, and in 
another few minutes — oh, happiness ! — ^we were over, 
and the perilous transit accomplished. 
The sun came out very warm, and there was a fresh 
scent in the air from the gum-trees ; flocks of bright- 
coloured parrots went by, and white, gray, and black 
cockatoos, painted pigeons, and a pretty little zebra- 
dove, a most trustful little bird that soon becomes tame 
when caught. A wagtail almost touched us, it came so 
near ; they are most inquisitive, and will rest on your 
horse's back as he feeds : they sit on the backs of the 
cattle catching flies, and are most interested in every- 
thing that goes on. Jackasses were everywhere, chuck ^ 
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