Dot and the Kangaroo | Page 6

straight in front,"
she explained. "Don't be afraid," she continued. "I know every jump of
the way. We kangaroos have gone this way ever since Australia began
to have kangaroos. Look here!" she said, pausing on a big boulder that
hung right over the gully, "we have made a history book for ourselves
out of these rocks; and so long as these rocks last, long, long after the
time when there will be no more kangaroos, and no more humans, the
sun, and the moon, and the stars will look down upon what we have
traced on these stones."
Dot peered out from her little refuge in the Kangaroo's pouch, and saw
the glow of the twilight sky reflected on the top of the boulder. The
rough surface of the stone shone with a beautiful polish like a
looking-glass, for the rock had been rubbed for thousands of years by
the soft feet and tails of millions of kangaroos; kangaroos that had
hopped down that way to get water. When Dot saw that, she didn't
know why it all seemed solemn, or why she felt such a very little girl.
She was a little sad, and the Kangaroo, after a short sigh, continued her
way.
As they neared the bottom of the gully the Kangaroo became extremely
cautious. She no longer hopped in the open, but made her way with
little leaps through the thick scrub. She peeped out carefully before
each movement. Her long, soft ears kept moving to catch every sound,
and her black sensitive little nose was constantly lifted, sniffing the air.
Every now and then she gave little backward starts, as if she were
going to retreat by the way she had come, and Dot, with her face
pressed against the Kangaroo's soft furry coat, could hear her heart
beating so fast that she knew she was very frightened.

They were not alone. Dot could hear whispers from unseen little
creatures everywhere in the scrub, and from birds in the trees. High up
in the branches were numbers of pigeons--sweet little Bronze-Wings;
and above all the other sounds she could hear their plaintive voices
crying, "We're so frightened! we're so frightened! so thirsty and so
frightened! so thirsty and so frightened!"
"Why don't they drink at the water-hole?" whispered Dot.
"Because they're frightened," was the answer.
"Frightened of what?" asked Dot.
"Humans!" said the Kangaroo, in frightened tones; and as she spoke
she reared up upon her long legs and tail, so that she stood at least six
feet high, and peeped over the bushes; her nose working all round, and
her ears wagging.
"I think it's safe," she said, as she squatted down again.
"Friend Kangaroo," said a Bronze-Wing that had sidled out to the end
of a neighbouring branch, "you are so courageous, will you go first to
the water, and let us know if it is all safe? We haven't tasted a drop of
water for two days," she said, sadly, "and we're dying of thirst. Last
night, when we had waited for hours, to make certain there were no
cruel Humans about, we flew down for a drink--and we wanted, oh! so
little, just three little sips; but the terrible Humans, with their
'bang-bangs,' murdered numbers of us. Then we flew back, and some
were hurt and bleeding, and died of their wounds, and none of us have
dared to get a drink since." Dot could see that the poor pigeon was
suffering great thirst, for its wings were drooping, and its poor dry beak
was open.
The Kangaroo was very distressed at hearing the pigeon's story. "It is
dreadful for you pigeons," she said, "because you can only drink at
evening; we sometimes can quench our thirst in the day, I wish we
could do without water! The Humans know all the water-holes, and
sooner or later we all get murdered, or die of thirst. How cruel they

are!"
Still the pigeons cried on, "we're so thirsty and so frightened;" and the
Bronze-Wing asked the Kangaroo to try again, if she could either smell
or hear a Human near the water-hole.
"I think we are safe," said the Kangaroo, having sniffed and listened as
before; "I will now try a nearer view."
The news soon spread that the Kangaroo was going to venture near the
water, to see if all was safe. The light was very dim, and there was a
general whisper that the attempt to get a drink of water should not be
left later; as some feared such foes as dingoes and night birds, should
they venture into the open space at night. As the Kangaroo moved
stealthily forward, pushing aside the branches of the scrub, or standing
erect to peep here and there, there was absolute silence in the