Then his cooey was answered from the other side of the river.
"Hallo," said the Baker, and he dimly distinguished some tall figures on the opposite bank. But his answer appeared to disturb them curiously. He could hear a quick, low chattering, and saw them disperse. He cooeed again impatiently, and this time he was answered in an unknown tongue.
"Blacks," said the Baker disconsolately. "I guess we're done."
But he replied.
"Don't understand your lingo," he said boldly; "but we're starving, and want some grub."
And, to his horror, for it was now utterly unexpected, he was answered in English, but in English of an accent that he had never heard. It sounded rather guttural, and quite foreign.
"Who are you?" said the man who spoke.
"Two miners," said Mandy; "and for Gawd's sake send over some grub. I and my mate have bin five days without food, and we're near dead."
"Where do you come from?" asked the voice.
"Up the billabong."