Bomero went out to reconnoitre, and he took Gioro and another with him, and when they returned I could see that his mind was made up as to the course he would take, but that he was, nevertheless, as much perplexed as ever. He gave the word and we struck out a little north of west, and after travelling about three times as far as it had yet taken us to get from water to water we struck another creek. We marched along the creek for another day, scarce ever losing sight of it, and then we camped by the water again. Next morning we left the women and children in camp, and about half the men, and Bomero with the ablest and quickest of the men marched away in search of another creek. Jack and I went with him, and as my horse was in good working condition we took him with us. We struck water somewhat sooner than before and camped for the night. I saw that Bomero was still perplexed, and I gathered from Gioro that his perplexity was caused by the conviction that he was now considerably out of his course, that he had gone too far north and had overshot the mark, and that we should have to go a day’s march south and east before we could resume the straight course to the place of meeting. The horizon was still clouded, and there was no sign at present of the clouds lifting soon. All this, however, was by no means enough to account for Bomero’s evident perturbation of mind. He was undoubtedly a clever and cool fellow, and one of much resource; there was abundance of water and food, we could not be far out of the track, and we had plenty of time, for as far as I could judge by the astronomical indications, we were a great many days and even weeks too soon; and the weather, barring the clouds, was everything that could be wished. Jack and I talked it over, and Jack reminded me of Gioro’s tale of the “dibble dibble all same white man” that Bomero had seen in the far west. “Depend upon it,” said Jack, “he thinks he is coming upon them again. The place, as Gioro said, was ‘more far’ than the place of meeting for the great Corrobboree, and he thinks that he is now getting ‘more far’ than there.” “And what of the dibble dibble that he saw there?” said I. “Oh, that’s the point,” said Jack. “No doubt they were white men; some pioneers from the north coast, perhaps, or maybe the men on some outlying station of some western squatter’s run, and if so we shall get back to civilisation sooner than we think.” “I don’t see much in it, Jack,” said I; “we’re not far enough west for that; if we were on the head-waters of the western slope we might be on the look-out for white pioneers, but I am afraid we are near as far from there as from the telegraph wire. Bomero’s ‘dibble dibble’ was either a pure invention or the suggestion of a dream, or if he did come across white men he must have been farther west than he is here.”