The wise men of the tribe, he explained, have always taught that you must never, never look at any little girl or lubra if you are her “little-bit-father,” or “little-bit-brother,” or any near relation to her. You must not even speak to her, or listen to her voice, unless she is so far off that you cannot see her face. “That far—” said Goggle Eye, pointing to a tree about one hundred yards away.
I was very interested and asked him what would happen if he broke this law. He answered earnestly: “Spose me look, Debbil-debbil take away eye; spose me listen, Debbil-debbil take away ear; spose me talk, Debbil-debbil take away tongue.”
“Dear me,” I said, “that would be unpleasant,” and then I asked him why the Debbil-debbils didn’t come and catch him when he was talking to Maudie. She, I knew, was his sister, and he often spoke to her. He looked at me very scornfully,
“Him bin come on first time, me bin come on beehind,” he said, meaning that she had been born first. She had started first for the world, and he had come on beehind her, and so she was his eldest sister. Evidently the Debbil-debbils allow you to talk to your eldest sister.
When I asked what would happen if he turned a corner suddenly, and, without meaning to, saw his “little-bit-somebody-he-shouldn’t,” he answered wisely:
“Spose me shut him eye quickfellow, that all right.”
“Ebimel Wooloomool,” I said, giving him his full name, which always pleased him, “you blackfellows plenty savey.”
He smiled a kingly smile at this, and when I asked him if he would like some flour to make a damper for his supper said, “Dank you please, Missus,” and followed me to the store with a dirty old “billy-can” in his hand. I gave him some flour and he carried it down to his camp-fire at the creek. In five minutes he was back with it. “Missus,” he said, looking the very picture of misery, “me bin spill him water longa flour; damper no good now,” and he held out his billy-can, and showed me a fearful sloppy-looking wet mess.