Morning broke at last lazily over the woods, and with but a brief interval they followed up the trail, and so on and on all that day, till far into the afternoon, when for a brief moment only Jacoby found himself puzzled, having fallen in with another trail leading south and west from the main track. He soon, however, discovered that the new trail must be that of some band who had joined the Findlayson farm raiders.
It became painfully evident soon after that this was the correct solution, for, going backwards some little way. Archie found a child's shoe—one of a crimson pair that Bob had bought in Brisbane for his little Diana.
"God help her, poor darling!" said Archie reverently, as he placed the little shoe in his breast pocket. When he returned he held it up for a moment before the men, and the scowl of anger that crossed their faces, and the firmer clutch they took of their weapons, showed it would indeed be bad for the blacks when they met these rough pioneers face to face.
At sunset supper was partaken of, and camp once more formed, though no fire was lit, cold though it might be before morning.
The men were tired, and were sound asleep almost as soon as they lay down; but Craig, with the brothers, climbed the ridge of the hill to look about them soon after it grew dark.
The camp rested at the entrance of a wild gully, a view of which could be had, darkling away towards the east, from the hill on which the three friends now found themselves.
Presently Rupert spoke.
"Archie," he said, "in this land of contrarieties does the moon sometimes rise in the south?"
"Not quite," replied Archie.
"Look, then. What is that reflection over yonder?" Craig and Archie both caught sight of it at the same time.