The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1875-09-23
ERGI INA, THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER o, 1876.

in range of Billy's heavy boot heel,
beat q hasty retreat,
There is no need TO remark that
he listened intently to hear what
the sayages were about. They were
chattering eagerly, but in o jargon
quite unintelligible. 80,
Presently the hole darkened.-
Something had,been pushed up into
the mouth Of it. AT FIRST Billy con-
cluded that the blacks were stopping
it up; put q moment after an omin-
Gus cracking, accompanied by q
snothered roaring, began. The ma
Stiyes had placed a fire atthe entrance
Eof the burrow. 50; 4 Z.
=. fss1,s- "a ';'''''S s,,siirf ,slle
Iheasd that the natives captured wom-
bats by smoking them out. An
Z
agony of.terror seized upon him.
Ten times rather would he have pre-
ferfed a race on the open plain, With
the whole tfibe.after him.
At first very little smoke worked
back to where he. lay, and he hoped
that he might yet escape suffocation.
Meantime he could; hear the blacks
shouting, singing. and beating on
the rock with their waddles, to frigh-
ten out the womlJats, probably, for
they had no idea that there was lar
ger game in the burrow.
As soon as the bundle of leaves and
grass was burned out, another was
brought. Billy now thought Of driy-
ing out the wombats, and Of saving
himself by sacrificing them. But on
his trying to seize the animals, they
retreated into smaller holes leading
off from the main den, where it was
impossible to reach them.
Gradually the smoke found its way
back into the burrow; yet by holding
his face close down to the earth Bill
ly managed to breathe. But it grew
more dense. Hiseyes began to smart
and it was difficult for him to breathe.
A horrible death stared him in the
face.
Under ordinary circumstances l
am sure that Billy seldom prayed
But he thought he was at deaths
door. Suffocation had its fearful
grip on his throat.
20 Lord" he cried out, his nose
! pressed into the dirt; stake pity on
me! o, dear Lord, put out that fire,
and drive away those heathen mig
gcrsm and then, fairly beside him
self with terror, he repeated it over
and over with all his strength.
The effect Of this petition on the
blacks outside seems to have been al
most instantaneous. The jabbering
and shouting ceased at once as if by
magic. There was moments 81
lcncc, then scampering.
With his mouth to the ground and
his eyes tightly shut, Billy lay and
listened. An utter stiffness had ia
ken the place of the noisy jollifca-
ton. The fire of dry grass burned
out, and the hole began to clear of
the smoke. But for n while Billy
had no thought that the natives had
gone. He knew nothing Of their su-
perstitions. He lay quiet and wait
ed.
The wombats came out Of their
letbargy and commenced to sneezc
prodigiouSly. They even tried to
creep out past him, but Billy drove
them back.
An hour or two passed, and the boy
was about mastering courage to crawl
out, when a slight noise on the rock
convinced him that some of the mig
gers were still near the place; 50 he
waited two or three hours more, as
he thinks, then very cautiously crcpt
down to the mouth Of the hole.
There was no native in sight, and
after watching and listening for .
long time, the boy ventured to come
forth. CHANGING guardedly backward
over the rock, he saw, set on it, a
broad wooden platter, well loaded
with fried tadpoles, another contain
ing bulrush roots, and large piece
of scorched kangaroo meat.
1t is aquite evidentthat the blacks
had taken Billy's voice for that Of
some sort Of divinity, whom they
thought it wasbestto propitiate with
q generous meal. and thcn leave him