CHAPTER XIII
Two men were walking near a cottage in the winter sunlight of the earlymorning. There came to the door a young woman, who looked pale andtired. She carried a bowl of milk to a little calf, and on her way backto the cottage she paused, and shading her eyes, that were red withweeping, lingered awhile, looking far and near. Then, with a sigh, shereturned indoors and worked restlessly at her household duties.
"It breaks my heart to see my wife do that," said the taller man, whocarried a gun. "All day long she comes out and looks for the child. Oneknows, now, that the poor little one can never come back to us," and asthe big man spoke there was a queer choking in his voice.
The younger man did not speak, but he patted his friend's shoulder in akindly manner, which showed that he too was very sorry.
"Even you have lost heart, Jack," said the big bushman, "but we shallfind her yet; the wife shall have that comfort."
"You'll never do it now," said the young fellow with a mournful shake ofthe head. "There is not an inch of ground that so young a child couldreach that we have not searched. The mystery is, what could have becomeof her?"
"That's what beats me," said the tall man, who was Dot's father. "Ithink of it all day and all night. There is the track of the dear littlemite as clear as possible for five miles, as far as the dry creek. Thetrackers say she rested her poor weary legs by sitting under theblackbutt tree. At that point she vanishes completely. The blacks saythere isn't a trace of man, or beast, beyond that place excepting thetrail of a big kangaroo. As you say, it's a mystery!"
As the men walked towards the bush, close to the place where Dot had runafter the hare the day she was lost, neither of them noticed the fussand scolding made by a Willy Wagtail; although the little bird seemedlikely to die of excitement.
Willy Wagtail was really saying, "Dot and her Kangaroo are coming thisway. Whatever you do, don't shoot them with that gun."
Presently the young man, Jack, noticed the little bird. "What friendlylittle chaps those wagtails are," he said, "and see how tame andfearless this one is. Upon my word, he nearly flew in your face thattime!"
DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO]
Dot's father did not notice the remark, for he had stopped suddenly, andwas peering into the bush whilst he quietly shifted his gun intoposition, ready to raise it and fire.
"By Jove!" he said, "I saw the head of a Kangaroo a moment ago behindthat iron-bark. Fancy it's coming so near the house. Next time it shows,I'll get a shot at it."
Both men waited for the moment when the Kangaroo should be seen again.
The next instant the Kangaroo bounded out of the Bush into the openpaddock. Swift as lightning up went the cruel gun, but, as it explodedwith a terrible report, the man, Jack, struck it upwards, and the fatalbullet lodged in the branch of a tall gum tree.
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Jack, pointing at the Kangaroo.
"Dot!" cried her father, dropping his gun, and stumbling blindly forwardwith outstretched arms, towards his little girl, who had just tumbledout of the Kangaroo's pouch in her hurry to reach her father.
"Hoo! hoo! ho! ho! he! he! ha! ha! ha! ha!" laughed a Kookooburra on atree, as he saw Dot clasped in her father's great strong arms, and thelittle face hidden in his big brown beard.
"Wife! wife!" shouted Dot's father, "Dot's come back! Dot's come back!"
"Dot's here!" yelled the young man, as he ran like mad to the house. Andall the time the good Kangaroo sat up on her haunches, still pantingwith fear from the sound of the gun, and a little afraid to stay, yet sointerested in all the excitement and delight, that she couldn't make upher mind to hop away.
"Dadda," said Dot, "You nearly killed Dot and her Kangaroo! Oh! if you'dkilled my Kangaroo, I'd never have been happy any more!"
"But I don't understand," said her father. "How did you come to be inthe Kangaroo's pouch?"
"Oh! I've got lots and lots to tell you!" said Dot; "but come and strokedear Kangaroo, who saved little Dot and brought her home."
"That I will!" said Dot's father, "and never more will I hurt aKangaroo!"
"Nor any of the Bush creatures," said Dot. "Promise, Dadda!"
"I promise," said the big man, in a queer-sounding voice, as he kissedDot over and over again, and walked towards the frightened animal.
Dot wriggled down from her father's arms, and said to the Kangaroo,"It's all right; no one's ever going to be shot or hurt here again!" andthe Kangaroo looked delighted at the good news.
"Dadda," said Dot, holding her father's hand, and, with her disengagedhand touching the Kangaroo's little paw. "This is my own dear Kangaroo."Dot's father, not knowing quite how to show his gratitude, stroked theKangaroo's head, and said "How do you do?" which, when he came to thinkof it afterwards, seemed rather a foolish thing to say. But he wasn'tused, like Dot, to talking to Bush creatures, and had not eaten theberries of understanding.
The Kangaroo saw that Dot's father was grateful, and so she was pleased,but she did not like to be stroked by a man who let off guns, so she wasglad that Dot's mother had run to where they were standing, and washugging and kissing the little girl, and crying all the time; for thenDot's father turned and watched his wife and child, and kept doingsomething to his eyes with a handkerchief, so that there was noattention to spare for Kangaroos.
The good Kangaroo, seeing how happy these people were, and knowing thather life was quite safe, wanted to peep about Dot's home and see what itwas like--for kangaroos can't help being curious. So presently shequietly hopped off towards the cottage, and then a very strange thinghappened. Just as the Kangaroo was wondering what the great iron tank bythe kitchen door was meant for, there popped out of the open door a joeyKangaroo. Now, to human beings, all joey Kangaroos look alike, butamongst Kangaroos there are no two the same, and Dot's Kangaroo at oncerecognised in the little Joey her own baby Kangaroo. The Joey knew itsmother directly, and, whilst Dot's Kangaroo was too astonished to move,and not being able to think, was trying to get at a conclusion why herJoey was coming out of a cottage, the little Kangaroo, with ahop-skip-and-a-jump, had landed itself comfortably in the nice pouch Dothad just vacated.
Then Dot's mother, rejoicing over the safe return of her little girl,was not more happy than the Kangaroo with her Joey once more in herpouch. With big bounds she leapt towards Dot, and the little girlsuddenly looking round for her Kangaroo friend, clapped her hands withdelight as she saw a little grey nose, a pair of tiny black paws, andthe point of a little black tail, hanging out of the pouch that hadcarried her so often.
"Why!" exclaimed Dot's mother, "if she hasn't got the little Joey, Jackbrought me yesterday! He picked it up after a Kangaroo hunt some timeago."
"It's her Joey; her lost Joey!" cried Dot, running to the Kangaroo. "Oh!dear Kangaroo, I am so glad!" she said, "for now we are all happy; ashappy as can be!" Dot hugged her Kangaroo, and kissed the little Joey,and they all three talked together, so that none of them understood whatthe others were saying, only that they were all much pleased anddelighted.
"Wife," said Dot's father, "I'll tell you what's mighty queer, ourlittle girl is talking away to those animals, and they're allunderstanding one another, as if it was the most natural thing in theworld to treat Kangaroos as if they were human beings!"
"I expect," said his wife, "that their feelings are not much differentfrom ours. See how that poor animal is rejoicing in getting back itslittle one, just as we are over having our little Dot again."
"To think of all the poor things I have killed," said Dot's fathersadly; "I'll never do it again."
"No," said his wife, "we must try and get everyone to be kind to thebush creatures, and protect them all we can."
This book would never come to an end if it told all that passed thatday. How Dot explained the wonderful power of the berries ofunderstanding, and how she told the kangaroos all that her parentswanted her to say on their behalf, and what kind things the Kangaroosaid in return.
All day long the Kangaroo stayed near Dot's h
ome, and the little girlpersuaded her to eat bread, which she said was "most delicious, but onewould get tired of it sooner than of grass."
Every effort was made by Dot and her parents to get the Kangaroo to liveon their selection, so that they might protect her from harm. But shesaid that she liked her own free life best, only she would never go faraway and would come often to see Dot. At sunset she said good-bye toDot, a little sadly, and the child stood in the rosy light of theafterglow, waving her hand, as she saw her kind animal friend hop awayand disappear into the dark shadow of the Bush.
She wandered about for some time listening to the voices of birds andcreatures, who came to tell her how glad everyone was that her way hadbeen found, and that no harm was to befall them in future. The news ofher safe return, and of the Kangaroo's finding her Joey, had been spreadfar and near, by Willy Wagtail and the Kookooburra; and she could hearthe shouts of laughter from kookooburras telling the story until nearlydark.
Quite late at night she was visited by the Opossum, the Native Bear,and the Nightjar, who entered by the open window, and, sitting in themoonlight, conversed about the day's events. They said that their wholerest and sleep had been disturbed by the noise and excitement of the daycreatures spreading the news through the Bush. The Mo-poke wished tosing a sad song because Dot was feeling happy, but the Opossum warned itthat it was sitting in a draught on the window sill and might spoil itsbeautiful voice, so it flew away and only sang in the distance. TheNative Bear said that the story of Dot's return and the finding ofKangaroo's Joey was so strange that it made its head feel quite empty.The Opossum inspected everything in Dot's room, and tried to fightitself in the looking-glass. It then got the Koala to look into themirror also, and said it would get an idea into its little empty head ifit did. When the Koala had taken a timid peep at itself, the Opossumsaid that the Koala now had an idea of how stupid it looked, and thelittle bear went off to get used to having an idea in its head. TheOpossum was so pleased with its spiteful joke that it hastily said goodnight, and hurried away to tell it to the other 'possums.
Gradually the voices of the creatures outside became more and more faintand indistinct; and then Dot slept in the grey light of the dawn.
When she went out in the morning, the kookooburras were gurgling andlaughing, the magpies were warbling, the parrakeets made theirtwittering, and Willy Wagtail was most lively; but Dot was astonished tofind that she could not understand what any of the creatures said,although they were all very friendly towards her. When the Kangaroo cameto see her she made signs that she wanted some berries of understanding,but, strange as it may seem, the Kangaroo pretended not to understand.Dot has often wondered why the Kangaroo would not understand, but,remembering what that considerate animal had said when she first gaveher the berries, she is inclined to think that the Kangaroo is afraid ofher learning too much, and thereby getting indigestion. Dot and herparents have often sought for the berries, but up to now they havefailed to find them. There is something very mysterious about thoseberries!
During that day every creature Dot had known in the Bush came to seeher, for they all knew that their lives were safe now, so they were notafraid. It greatly surprised Dot's parents to see such numbers of birdsand animals coming around their little girl, and they thought it verypretty when in the evening a flock of Native Companions settled down,and danced their graceful dance with the little girl joining in thegame.
"It seems to me, wife," said Dot's father with a glad laugh, "that theplace has become a regular menagerie!"
BY THE LAKE (EVENING)]
Later on, Dot's father made a dam on a hollow piece of ground near thehouse, which soon became full of water, and is surrounded by beautifulwillow trees. There all the thirsty creatures come to drink in safety.And very pretty it is, to sit on the verandah of that happy home, andsee Dot playing near the water surrounded by her Bush friends, who comeand go as they please, and play with the little girl beside the prettylake. And no one in all the Gabblebabble district hurts a bush creature,because they are all called "Dot's friends."
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FINALE.
Before putting away the pen and closing the inkstand, now that Dot hassaid all she wishes to be recorded of her bewildering adventures, thewriter would like to warn little people, that the best thing to do whenone is lost in the bush, is to sit still in one place, and not to try tofind one's way home at all. If Dot had done this, and had not gone offin the Kangaroo's pouch, she would have been found almost directly. Asthe more one tries to find one's way home, the more one gets lost, andas helpful Kangaroos like Dot's are very scarce, the best way to getfound quickly, is to wait in one place until the search parties findone. Don't forget this advice! And don't eat any strange berries in thebush, unless a Kangaroo brings them to you.
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W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd., Printers, Sydney, Australia
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