d some species of communication: the aborigines nodded, and one held out a spear-thrower, which laurence was startled to see decorated at the end with a string of porcelain beads in red and blue, and another of jade and pearls. he pointed at the pistol in laurence's belt. laurence shook his head and said, "no, i thank you," rather bewildered to be offered such a bargain in the middle of the desert. the hunter shrugged and equably accepted refusal, and when laurence brought out his map and laid it out, they were willing enough to look down at the chart.

this, however, they did not seem to think meaningful; they touched the paper between their fingers appreciatively, and traced the colored lines of ink, but turned it upside-down and back without sign of recognition, even the territory lately traversed which laurence pointed out to them, the newly marked creek beds and salt pans and hills which must have been familiar landmarks; but perhaps the aborigines did not have the habit of mapmaking.

instead, shipley pointed at the necklace and asked "where?" in the version of the language which he knew, then pointing in each direction of the compass; the aborigines answered with "pitjantjatjara" and "larrakia," and pointed north and west, with almost a throwing gesture and another word - "far, far," shipley said. "i think that's what it means, anyway."

"and then what about the men they have been snatching?" o'dea said, and drew in the sand several figures in stick form, and by them the water-hole and the rock outcropping where jonas green had vanished. he then crossed out one of his figures; the aborigines nodded without surprise and said, "bunyip," and shook their heads vigorously.

"bunyip," they repeated, and crossed the man out more thoroughly, and said a great deal more, which might have been excellent advice if they could have understood a word of it. but then, perceiving they were not understood, the youngest of their company proceeded to hold up his hands like claws by his mouth and made a hissing snatching gesture, with a growl, rather looking like a children's bogey; and laurence grew doubtful of the proffered explanation: there had certainly been no monsters wandering about the camp.

but o'dea proved more willing to accept this excuse, and, somewhat mollified, trying more of his limited supply found a few more common words: he drew the egg larger and showed a dragon coming out of it, wings outspread. the aborigines repeated their gesture towards the north-west, and then the oldest tapped the youth on the shoulder, demanding attention, and opening his mouth sang, in a low and gravelly if resonant voice; the other men clapping softly along, to add rhythm to the chant.

"no use to trying to work that out," o'dea said, looking around. "they go off so from time to time, when you ask them directions, but it is only these stories of theirs: monsters and gods and the making of the world. it don't mean anything."

the song finishing, and the small smudgy fire also, the men bent to take up their strings of game and to move on to another patch of the grasslands; the youth stepped into the newly burnt section and took himself a branch still burning quietly at one end. laurence would have liked to try and get a little more intelligence out of them, perhaps recruiting dorset, who was a good hand at draftsmanship, and trying to with better illustrations convey more precise questions; but the hunters had evidently tired of a conversation of so little profit to themselves, and to restrain them could only provoke the quarrel which the men had formerly imagined.

"bunyips," o'dea repeated to shipley with ghoulish satisfaction, as they walked back towards the camp. "so it is bunyips: and they must be man-eaters, did you see how those black fellows shook at the word? god rest their souls, jack telly and poor jonas; in a bunyip's belly, it is a cruel way to end. like tigers, they must be."

the story would certainly be all across the camp in moments, when they had returned, and the men undoubtedly as pleased to transfer all their fears to man-eating monsters, as to native tribesmen; or more pleased, for the greater hideousness of the threat. laurence sighed, and climbed wearily up the dune ahead to wave a reassuring hand to temeraire, who should be worrying; but when he came in sight, temeraire was looking down instead at the egg, which fellowes was hastily taking out of its wrappings.