tion grounds of the Bora mystery were somewhere at the foot of Mount Luya, and that hence arose the superstitious dislike of the blacks to going anywhere near the Baròlin Fall. But Pompo only grinned when she hazarded this theory, and declared "that White Missus plenty gammon," which is the recognized black formula for avoiding a delicate subject. He was more communicative when Elsie asked about the great Wolla-Wolla, the black parliament, and about the marriage laws of the Luya tribes, the Combo, Hippi, and Haggi families. Elsie had arrived at a due understanding of the fact that the child of a Combo-Hippi must marry a Hippi-Haggi, and their child in turn must wed with a Haggi-Combo, when the Coo-ees of the rear party sounded nearer and louder, and presently Hallett and Lady Horace, closely followed by Lord Horace and Mrs. Allanby, made their appearance, and proceeded at once to mount.
It was easy going all the way home. They rode across a series of flats made by the bends of the river. There was no excuse for loitering in twos. Lord Horace and Trant started a chorus—Lord Horace's adaptation of Adam Lindsay Gordon's spirited lines.
The moon was getting near its full, and cast ghostly shadows upon the flat and under the gnarled apple gums and the queer rocky knolls that had a way of starting up on the edge of a flat where the hills encroached towards the river. The way was not so picturesque as that which they had taken in the morning, but it was much better adapted to a night ride. Gipsy Girl knew she was going home, and went fleetly along—Hallett close by Elsie's side, for Blake made no attempt at any further talk, but rode by Lady Horace, who afterwards confessed to Elsie that he was certainly very agreeable. As for Elsie, she felt in a dream. She hardly knew what Frank Hallett was talking about, though she answered mechanically even and found herself laughing. He was telling her about his election campaign, and his coming tour on the Wallaroo, on which he was to start on the morrow.
