Although the Kangaroo was longing to hear the reason why so many Bush
creatures had collected round Dot whilst she was away, she was too
anxious to carry her to Willy Wagtail before nightfall to wait and
enquire what had happened. Dot, too, was so excited at hearing that
her way home had been found, that she could only think of the delight
of seeing her father and mother again. So the Kangaroo had hopped
until she was tired and needed rest, before they spoke. Then Dot
described the Trial, and made the Kangaroo laugh about the Cockatoo
judge, but she did not say how it had all ended because the Kangaroo
had forgiven Dot for Humans making rugs of her fur, boots of her skin,
and soup of her tail. She was afraid of hurting her feelings by
mentioning such delicate subjects. The Kangaroo never noticed that
anything was left out, because she was bursting to relate her interview
with Willy Wagtail.
She told Dot eagerly how she had found Willy Wagtail near his old
haunt; how that gossiping little bird had told all the news of the
Gabblegabble town and district in ten minutes, and how he had said he
believed he knew Dot by sight, and that if such were the case he would
show Dot and the Kangaroo the way to the little girl's home. Then Dot
and the Kangaroo hurried on their way again, the little girl sometimes
running and walking to rest the kind animal, and sometimes being
carried in that soft cosy pouch that had been her cradle and carriage
for all those days.
It was quite dusk by the time they arrived at a split-rail fence, and
heard a little bird singing, "Sweet pretty creature! Sweet pretty
creature!"
"That is Willy Wagtail making love," said the Kangaroo, with a humorous
twinkle in her quiet eyes. "Peep round the bush," she said to Dot,
"and you'll see them spooning."
Dot glanced through the branches, and saw two wagtails, who looked very
smart with their black coats and white waistcoats, sitting on two posts
of a fence a little way off. They were each pretending that their long
big tails were too heavy to balance them properly, and they seemed to
be always just saving themselves from toppling off their perch.
Occasionally Willy would dart into the air, to show what an expert
flyer he was; he would shoot straight upwards, turn a double somersault
backwards, and wing off in the direction one least expected.
Afterwards he would return to his post as calm and cool as if he had
done nothing surprising and say "Pretty pretty Chip-pi-ti-chip!" that
name meaning the other wagtail. Then Chip-pi-ti-chip showed off HER
flying, and they both said to one another "Sweet pretty creature!"
At the sound of Dot and the Kangaroo's approach Chip-pi-ti-chip hid
herself in a tree, and Willy Wagtail, not knowing who was disturbing
them, scolded angrily; but when he saw the Kangaroo and the little
girl, he gave them the most cordial greeting, and wobbled about on a
rail as if he must tumble off every second.
"This is Dot," said the Kangaroo a little anxiously, and rather
breathless with the speed she had made.
"Just as I had expected!" exclaimed Willy Wagtail, with a jerk of the
tail which nearly sent him headlong off the rail. "I should know you
anywhere, little Human, though you do look a bit different. You want
preening," he added.
This last remark was in allusion to Dot's appearance, which certainly
was most untidy and dirty, for, beyond an occasional lick from the
Kangaroo, she had been five days without being tidied and cleaned.
"I couldn't do it better," said the Kangaroo apologetically.
"It doesn't matter at all," said Dot, putting her tangled curls back
from her eyes.
"Well! I know where you live," gabbled off the Wagtail. "It's the
second big paddock from here, if you follow the belt of the she-oak
trees over there. It's a house just like those things in Gabblebabble
township. There's a yellow sheep dog, who's very good tempered, and a
black one that made a snap at my tail the other day. There is an old
grey cart horse, an honest fellow, but rather dull; and a bay mare who
is much better company. There is a little red cow who is a great
friend of mine, and she had a calf a few days before you were lost.
Dear me!" exclaimed the gossiping bird, "what a fuss there has been
these five days over trying to find you! I've been over there every
day to see the sight. Such a lot of Humans! And such horses. I
enjoyed myself immensely, and made a lot of friends amongst the horses,
but I didn't care so much for the dogs; I thought them a nasty
quarrelsome lot.
"I went a couple of days with the whole turn out to see the search.
Goodness, the distances they went, and the noise and the big fires they
made. It WAS exciting fun! They brought over some black
Humans--'Trackers' is what they are called, at least the Mounted
Troopers' horses told me so (my word the Troopers' horses are jolly
fellows!) Well, these black trackers went in front of each party just
like dogs, with their heads to the ground, and they turned over every
leaf and twig, and said if a Human, a horse or a Kangaroo had broken it
or been that way, they would have found your track fast enough, but one
evening it came to an end quite suddenly, and weren't they all
surprised! I heard from a Trooper's horse--(such a nice horse he
was!)--that the trackers and white Humans said it was just as if you
had disappeared into the sky! There was just a bit of your fur on a
bush, and nothing anywhere else but a Kangaroo's trail. No one could
make it out."
"That was when I took you in my pouch!" exclaimed the Kangaroo.
"Now," said the Wagtail, "most of them have given up the search. Just
this evening Dot's father and a few other Humans came back, and the
yellow sheep dog told me the last big party is to start at noon
to-morrow, and after that there will be no more attempt to find Dot.
Only the sheep dog said he heard his master say he would go on hunting
alone, until he found her body. I haven't been over there to-day,"
wound up the bird, "they are all so miserable and tired, it gave me the
blues yesterday."
"What are we to do? It is quite dark and late!" asked the Kangaroo.
"You had better stay here," counselled the Wagtail. "One night more or
less doesn't matter, and I don't like leaving Chip-pi-ti-chip at
night-time. She likes me to sing to her all night, because she is
nervous. I will go with you to-morrow morning early, if you will wait
here until then."
"Having found your lost way so far!" said the Kangaroo to Dot, "it
would be a pity to risk losing it again, so we had better wait for
Willy Wagtail to guide us to-morrow."
To tell the truth, the Kangaroo was very glad of the excuse to keep Dot
one night more before parting from her. "It will seem like losing my
little Joey again, when I am once more alone," she said sadly.
"But you will never go far away," said Dot. "I should cry, if I
thought you would never come to see me. You will live on our
selection, won't you?"
But the Kangaroo looked very doubtful, and said that she loved Dot, but
she was afraid of Humans and their dogs.
After a supper of berries and grass, Dot and the Kangaroo lay down for
the night in a little bower of bushes. But they talked until very
late, of how they were to manage to reach Dot's home without danger
from guns and dogs. At last when they tried to sleep, they could not
do so on account of Willy Wagtail's singing to his sweetheart, "Sweet
pretty creature! Sweet pretty creature!" without stopping for more than
five minutes at a time.
"I wonder Chip-pi-ti-chip doesn't get tired of that song," said Dot.
"She never does," yawned the Kangaroo, "and he never tires of singing
it."
"Sweet pretty creature," sang Willy Wagtail.