The Germ Growers: An Australian story of adventure and mysteryPotter, Robert
Science
The Germ Growers: An Australian story of adventure and mystery
Potter, Robert
Science fiction, Australian
This third morning we left the creek nearly at right angles and struck
across the forest, and our guide was evidently more sharply on the
watch than ever. He travelled very slowly now and he seemed to be
looking everywhere for some local indications. After about two miles
travelling we came again upon a creek, as far as I could judge a
different one. It was very narrow and scarcely running. There was one
very fair pond, however, but Gioro took scarce any notice of it, but
ran on to the dry or nearly dry bed of the creek beyond. Here he set
up a triumphant yell, and signed to us to come and see. I saw plainly
enough what I thought at first to be a cattle track coming from the
north-east and passing right across the bed of the creek. I looked at
Gioro and said, “Sheep?” “No, no,” he shouted, “not sheep; black
fellow, black fellow,” and stooping down he pointed at the track. I
stooped also and examined it, and sure enough I could see plainly the
mark of human feet. “When shall we catch them up, Sir Gioro?” said I.
“To-night,” he shouted; “to-night, Corrobboree! Corrobboree!”
We followed the track without pause, and by-and-by more tracks joined
it, all from the north or east or from some point between these. There
could be no doubt at all that we were approaching some camping-place
of the blacks. Our course was now almost directly westward, with a
very slight trend to the north, and the country still continued much
of the same sort, undulating perhaps a little more, well grassed and
fairly but not very thickly timbered. Wild animals and birds were much
more numerous.
It was after sunset, the moon which was now nearly half way between
new and full was well up in the sky, there was a strange glimmer in
the west that looked like an aurora, and Gioro was in a state of high
excitement when the pathway bending round the foot of a somewhat
steeper hill than we had seen during the day suddenly brought us
within sight of a single fire. It was evidently just freshly kindled,
but there was no one near it now. Gioro stopped, looked at us, and put
his hand to his mouth. Then we made a half turn silently, still
following the track, and all in a moment we came in view of the most
striking sight that I had yet seen in Australia, or for the matter of
that anywhere in the world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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