As the blacks turned to go to their camp, the men gave another “Hip Hooray and a Tiger” for the King, and then fired a volley of revolver shots into the air as a royal salute. This was too much for our dusky friends; they thought we had suddenly gone mad, and dropping flour and treacle-tins in all directions, fled helter-skelter into the bush, even Bett-Bett and the piccaninnies joining in the general scamper.
We shouted to them to stop, and said we were only having a “play-about”; but they did not wait to hear. We ran after them, but that only made matters worse. The only thing was to sit down and wait. When all was quiet, I lifted up my voice to the high sing-song pitch that the lubras had taught me would carry well, and I called Bett-Bett.
Away in the distance a thin little squeak answered. Then I called again and again, and at last she screwed up enough courage to come back. We sent her after the others, to tell them we were only in fun, and to say they had better come and collect their tucker.
For about five minutes we heard her shrill little voice piping through the forest, and then Billy Muck turned up, giggling nervously. Soon after him came the station “Boys,” trying hard to look at ease, and pretending they had only run for fun. But it was nearly half-an-hour before everybody decided that it was really safe.
The last man in got teased unmercifully because he had been frightened of the Missus and the Boss—the good “Maluka” who was every blackfellow’s friend— and I thought it was very like “the pot calling the kettle black,” seeing how they had run themselves.
We told them that we had shouted and fired, because that is the way that white men always have a Play-about Corrobboree. They seemed able to see some sense in that idea, and were soon shouting with laughter at the way they had run, as though it were the best joke in the world.
Bett-Bett put on great airs because she had come back first, and strutted about with her nose in the air, saying;
“Me no more frightened fellow longa Missus; me all day savey Boss play-about. Me no more run long way,” and so on, and so on.
As nobody had waited to see, nobody could contradict her, and she had it all her own way, and “came out on top,” as the men said.
After a while everything was gathered up again, and new pipes were given out all round to make up for the fright, and very soon some most indigestible-looking dampers were cooked and eaten, and every one was happy and contented.