“Yes,” answered Bob, “if I may depend on you to convey me so far.”
“Of course I will, with pleasure; one good turn deserves another. Get on my back,” and ere our hero knew what he was about the bird rose with him into the blue void high above the tree-tops. Bob held on tightly, but without feeling at all alarmed at his dangerous position. From his elevated post he had a splendid view of the surrounding country. Far ahead in the distance he beheld a colossal peak, standing darkly out above the surrounding hills. Its sides were almost upright, and shone in the sun like polished marble.
“What mountain is that yonder?” he inquired of the gum-hawk. [[297]]
“Mountain! That is the Granite Cliff.”
“I have a large piece of kangaroo still left in my pouch,” rejoined the hunter after a pause. “The meat shall be yours if you set me down on the summit of the cliff.”
“Don’t go there,” answered the gum-hawk in a warning voice.
“Why?”
“Because it is the home of wicked people, who will kill you.”
“I have no fear on that head. Will you have the meat?”
“Certainly, if you are determined,” and the friendly bird, finding that our hero was resolved, flew to the apex of the rock, and there left him.