" River to-night. Sambo," he said airily ; but after
that one swift glance Sambo rode after us as stoKd as ever
— Sambo was always difficult to fathom — ^whfle Dan spent
the afternoon congratulating himself on the success of
his dust-throwing, proving with many illustrations that
" it's the hardest thing to spring a surprise on niggers.
Something seems to tell 'em you're coming," he explained.
" Some chaps put it down to second-sight or thought-
reading."

When we turned in Dan was still chuckling over his cute
handling of the trip. " Bluffed 'em this time aU right,"
ne assured us, httle guessing that the blacks at the " Red



We of the Never-Never 201

Lilies," thirty miles away, and other little groups of blacks
travelling down the river towards the lagoons were con-
jecturing on the object of the Maluka's visit — " something
having told them we were coming."

The " something," however, was neither second-sight
nor thought-reading, but a very simple, tangible " some-
thing." Sambo had gone for a stroll from our camp
about sundown, and one of Jack's boys had gone for a
stroll from Jack's camp, and soon afterwards two tell-
tale telegraphic columns of smoke, worked on some black-
fellow dot-dash-system, had risen above the timber, and
their messages had also been duly noted down at the
Red Lilies and elsewhere, and acted upon, The Maluka
was on the river, and when the Maluka was about, it
was considered wisdom to be off forbidden ground ; not
that the blacks feared the Maluka, but no one cares about
vexing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
