There was one among them (Cranky Jim they used to call him--he as told me this yarn--he used to be about Reid's mill last year) who always was going on at them to take more care, but they never heeded him at all.
"They found a fine creek, with plenty of feed and water, and camped at it to wait till the others came up.

They saw no blacks, nor heard of any, and three days were past, and they began to wonder why the others had not overtaken them.
"The third night they were all sitting round the fire, laughing and smoking, when they heard a loud co'ee on the opposite side of the scrub, and half-a-dozen of them started up, and sang out, "There they are!" "Well, they all began co'eeing again, and they heard the others in reply, apparently all about in the scrub.

So off they starts, one by one, into the scrub, answering and hallooing, for it seemed to them that their mates were scattered about, and didn't know where they were.
Well, as I said, fourteen of them started into the scrub to collect the party and bring them up to the fire; only old Cranky Jim sat still in the camp.

He believed, with the others, that it was the rest of their party coming up, but he soon began to wonder how it was that they were so scattered.

Then he heard one scream, and then it struck him all at once that this was a dodge of the blacks to draw the men from the camp, and, when they were abroad, cut them off one by one, plunder the drays, and drive off the sheep.
"So he dropped, and crawled away in the dark.